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At least 30 persons were injured when a bus met with an accident in Doti on Thursday.

The bus (SuPaPra 01 001 Kha 3108) belonging to the Malika Travels) was heading towards Bajura from Dhangadhi when the incident occurred at Sanagaun in Purbichauki Rural Municipality-4, Doti at around 6 am today, DSP Bhola Bhatta of the District Police Office, Doti said.

Nepal Army and Nepali Police personnel have been deployed to carry out rescue operations.

Among the injured, 16 are undergoing treatment at the District Hospital in Doti while 13 are receiving treatment at a local clinic, police said.

DSP Bhatta said that the bus driver fled the scene after the incident and they are searching for him.

The bus fell some 20 meters down the road, police said.

Inter Milan came from behind against Juventus to clinch a first Coppa Italia since 2011 at the Stadio Olimpico, BBC reported.

Hakan Calhanoglu's 80th-minute penalty forced extra time and Ivan Perisic scored twice in three minutes as Inter lifted the cup for the eighth time.

Nicolo Barella's superb strike had put Inter ahead after six minutes. 

But holders Juventus scored twice in quick succession through Alex Sandro and Dusan Vlahovic to turn the game around early in the second half.

Defeat ended record 14-time winners Juventus' hopes of a trophy this season - the first time that has happened since 2010-11, according to BBC.

Serie A title chasers Inter, who are second and two points behind city rivals AC Milan with two games to go, had not reached the final of the competition since their previous triumph 11 years ago.

Barella gave Inter the perfect start when he curled a sublime right-foot shot into the top corner after cutting inside from the left to score the fastest Coppa Italia final goal since 2015. 

Samir Handanovic produced a fine save to deny Vlahovic and Paulo Dybala shot wide as Juventus chased an equaliser before the break.

But Massimiliano Allegri's side were ahead within seven minutes of the restart thanks to goals from Sandro and Vlahovic, who followed up his own saved effort after a quick counter-attack.

Calhanoglu held his nerve to force extra time after Lautaro Martinez was brought down by Leonardo Bonucci, and Perisic then stepped up from the penalty spot to put Inter back in front after 99 minutes, BBC reported.

Perisic added a stunning fourth just three minutes later, taking a touch before firing into the top corner from the edge of the box to put the contest out of Juventus' reach.

Inter will now face Cagliari and Sampdoria in their final two league games as they pursue a domestic double.

A powerful bomb exploded ahead of local level elections in Miklajung Rural Municipality, Morang on Wednesday.

Police suspect that the bomb may have been planted.

According to Madan Shrestha, a teacher at the  Saraswati Basis School, the blast was heard at around 11 pm yesterday.

Meanwhile, a suspicious object was found at Barkhe in Miklajung on Thursday.

A pressure cooker was found on the road around 50 meters from the school, this morning, DSP Deepak Shrestha of the District Police Office, Morang said.

Police suspect that the people who were against the elections may have detonated the bomb and placed a suspicious object on the road.

CPN-UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) cadres attacked a ward chairman candidate of Umakunda Rural Municipality-3, Ramechhap with a khukuri on Wednesday.

Ramesh Sunuwar, who had filed his candidacy from the Nepali Congress, was critically injured in the attack, Nepali Congress Umakunda Rural Municipality ward chairman candidate Jit Bahadur Katuwal said.

He has been taken to the Bamti Hospital in Bamti for treatment.

It has been a group led by Pabitra Subba attacked Sunuwar with the khukuri.

Police said that they have arrested some cadres along with Subba for investigation.

Riding on Mitchell Marsh’s all-round heroics, Delhi Capitals got their act together in the nick of time to upstage Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets and keep their IPL playoffs hopes alive on Wednesday, The Indian Express reported.

After their bowlers restricted RR to 160/6, Marsh’s 62-ball 89 and David Warner’s unbeaten 52 off 41 balls helped the Capitals complete the task with 11 balls to spare for their sixth win of the season that saw the team suffer setbacks both on and off the field, including multiple COVID-19 cases in its camp.

Manchester City's midfield genius Kevin De Bruyne scored four goals on Wednesday in a 5-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers to put his team in a commanding position to retain the Premier League with two games remaining, Reuters reported.

The Belgian put the game to bed with a hat-trick in a devastating 18-minute spell in the first half, before notching a fourth after the break as the away fans alternated between chanting "Kevin De Bruyne" and "Champions of England".

The win leaves Pep Guardiola's side top on 89 points, three ahead of Liverpool whom they also lead on goal difference, with the title now firmly in their sights.

A second consecutive Premier League title would assuage disappointment at their Champions League exit, after City fell in the semis and Liverpool reached the final.

At Molineux, De Bruyne scored the third earliest hat-trick in Premier League history and his first for Manchester City, according to Reuters.

For the first goal, he began the move before running on to Bernardo Silva's return pass for a sumptuously-placed finish in the seventh minute. De Bruyne smashed in a rebound for his second in the 16th minute, before deploying his supposedly weaker left foot for a glorious curler from the edge of the box in the 24th.

"The third goal was my favourite. I think that strike is the cleanest. I hit it really hard in the corner. Out of the three, that was the purest," he said.

"When you score four goals, it's always something special. It should have been five to be honest!" he added, lamenting that a late strike hit the post, Reuters reported.

The UK has agreed mutual security pacts with Sweden and Finland, agreeing to come to their aid should either nation come under attack, BBC reported.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited both countries to sign the deals, amid debate about them joining Nato. 

The pacts also state that Finland and Sweden would assist the UK in a crisis. 

Mr Johnson and Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson said co-operation was "even more important" given Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The second deal was announced in a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

Mr Johnson said the "solemn declaration" between the UK and Finland was reflective of the "extreme difficulty of the times we are in".

He emphasised the deal was "not a short-term stop gap" while Finland considered whether to join the Nato defensive alliance, but rather a "enduring assurance between two nations".

Asked if there would be "British boots on the ground" in Finland should a conflict break out, Mr Johnson said military assistance would be offered, but that the "nature of that assistance" would depend upon the "request of the other party". 

Mr Johnson added the agreement would become the "foundation of an intensification of our security and our defence relationship in other ways as well".

Mr Niinistö said his nation appreciated the UK's "strong support" of Nato's open-door policy to Finland's potential membership, according to BBC.

He said joining Nato would not be "against anybody" and the UK deal was intended to "maximise our security one way or another" while considering joining the defensive alliance.

However, when asked if the possible move could provoke President Vladimir Putin, Mr Niinistö said Russia would be responsible if Sweden or Finland joined Nato. 

He said Russia was suggesting the two nations did not have their "own will" by threatening them against applying for membership.

"They are ready to attack their neighbouring country, so... my response would be that 'you caused this - look at the mirror'".

Speaking earlier in Sweden Mr Johnson said: "If Sweden were attacked and looked to us for help and support, then we would provide it."

Asked by the BBC to spell out exactly what the UK would do if Russia attacked Sweden, Mr Johnson said the deal meant that "upon request from the other party, we would come to the other party's assistance".

Ms Andersson argued her country would be safer as a result of the mutual assistance agreement with the UK, adding: "Of course this means something. This is important whatever policy choice we make in Sweden."

She also explained the country was "exploring all possible options and Nato is one of them that is on the table".

Finland says applying to join Nato is all about defence. But Vladimir Putin doesn't see it that way. He's always viewed Nato's eastern expansion as a threat, BBC reported.

Finland shares an 800 mile (1300km) long border with Russia, bringing the alliance's military might that much closer Moscow.

Finnish and Swedish membership will make Nato more robust too - boosting its eastern flank and presence in the Baltic Sea. And the Kremlin has threatened retaliation.

Some fear it might deploy targeted nuclear weapons. But Finnish diplomats I've spoken to believe Russia has its military hands full in Ukraine and that it will instead focus on cyber and disinformation campaigns.

They say President Putin has himself to blame for Nato expanding. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, most Finns and Swedes preferred to work alongside, but not inside, Nato, according to BBC.

Russia's aggression - its expansionist zeal - changed all that.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said he will appoint a new prime minister and cabinet this week, after his elder brother and former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned following deadly violence in the country, Aljazeera reported.

The new prime minister and cabinet will command a majority in the 225-seat parliament, Rajapaksa said, adding he will bring constitutional reforms to grant more power to the parliament.

“I am taking steps to form a new government to control the current situation, to prevent the country from falling into anarchy as well as to maintain the affairs of the government that have been halted,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

The move followed comments earlier in the day from Sri Lanka’s central bank governor, who said he would quit within weeks unless political stability was restored.

P Nandalal Weerasinghe, appointed central bank chief last month to help the island nation of 22 million people find a way out of its worst-ever economic crisis, said a stable government was essential to stop the turmoil.

“I have clearly told the president and other political party leaders that unless political stability is established in the next two weeks I will step down,” Weerasinghe told reporters, according to Aljazeera.

“Without political stability, it doesn’t matter who runs the central bank,” he said. “There will be no way to stop the economic deterioration.”

Ordinary Sri Lankans blame the government of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family for the growing crisis on the island with down to just about $50m, and massive shortages of essentials including cooking gas, fuel and medicine.

After more than a month of mostly peaceful demonstrations, public anger exploded into violence this week, after ruling party supporters stormed an anti-government protest camp, triggering clashes nationwide and the prime minister’s resignation.

With ruling party politicians targeted by mobs, Mahinda Rajapaksa, once hugely popular and a former president, was whisked away to a military base in the country’s northeast, the defence secretary said.

“He will remain there for the next couple of days and when the situation is normalised, he can be moved to a location of his choice,” Kamal Gunaratne said, Aljazeera reported.

On Wednesday, police and soldiers patrolled the streets of Weeraketiya, the Rajapaksa family’s home town, where shops and businesses were shut amid a curfew that will remain in force until Thursday morning.