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The US central bank has announced its biggest interest rate rise in nearly 30 years as it ramps up its fight to rein in soaring consumer prices, BBC reported.

The Federal Reserve said it would increase its key interest rate by three quarters of a percentage point to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.

The rise, the third since March, comes after inflation in the US surged unexpectedly last month.

More hikes are expected, adding to the uncertainty facing the economy.

Forecasts released after the meeting showed officials expect the rate the Fed charges banks to borrow could reach 3.4% by the end of the year, the moves rippling out to the public in the form of higher borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards and other loans.

As central banks around the world take similar steps, it marks a massive change for the global economy, where businesses and households have enjoyed years of low borrowing costs, according to Associated Press.

"Most advanced economy central banks and some emerging market central banks are tightening policy in sync," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at strategy consulting firm EY-Parthenon.

"That is a global environment that we've not been accustomed to in the past few decades, and that will represent ramifications for the business sector and for consumers throughout the world."

Thousands of civilians are trapped in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk with essential supplies running out, the United Nations is warning, BBC reported.

Many of them are sheltering in bunkers beneath the city's Azot chemical plant.

The last bridge leading out of the city was destroyed in fighting earlier this week - effectively trapping its 12,000 remaining residents inside.

For weeks capturing Severodonetsk has been a top military goal for Russia, which now controls most of the city.

"The lack of water and sanitation is a big worry. It's a huge concern for us because people cannot survive for long without water," spokesperson for the UN's Humanitarian Affairs office Saviano Abreu told the BBC.

Mr Abreu added that food supplies and health provisions were also running out in Severodonetsk, which is in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region.

The UN is hoping to provide aid to those trapped in the city, but continued fighting means its agencies cannot get access or assurances to safely reach the civilians still there, including women, children and the elderly.

The warning followed Russian promises to open a humanitarian corridor earlier on Wednesday to evacuate civilians trapped beneath the Azot plant. 

But so far there has been no confirmation that the planned safe route - which would have evacuated civilians into Russian-controlled territory to the city's north - had actually gone ahead.

On Wednesday a pro-Russian separatist official accused Ukrainian forces of "completely thwarting" the evacuation of civilians trapped in the chemical plant, according to BBC.

"At Azot, militants are trying to disrupt the evacuation! From the territory of the plant, the militants have begun firing from a mortar and a tank," Rodion Miroshnik, the "ambassador" to Moscow of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, said on Telegram.

The BBC has not been able to verify this claim.

Russian media outlets also blamed Ukrainian forces for the fact that civilians were trapped alongside its fighters in the plant - accusing them of using local residents as "human shields".

Gazprom-owned NTV suggested there may be as many as 1,200 people, including children, trapped underneath the plant, BBC reported.

The US announced it will send an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as America and its allies provide longer-range weapons they say can make a difference in a fight where Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and outgunned by their Russian invaders, Associated Press reported.

President Joe Biden and his top national security leaders said Wednesday the US is moving as fast as possible to get critical weapons to the fight, even as Ukrainian officials protest that they need more, faster, in order to survive. 

The latest package, the US said, includes anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that U.S. forces are training Ukrainian troops on now. All are key weapons systems that Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested as they battle to stall Russia’s slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region.

“Gen. Milley and I have been in a number of fights. And when you’re in a fight, you can never get enough,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press conference in Brussels, referring to Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“I certainly understand where the Ukrainians are coming from, and we’re gonna fight hard to give them everything they need.”

The HIMARS and anti-ship systems are the kinds of longer range capabilities that over time can make a difference in the fight, Milley said. He said Ukraine will have trained HIMARS crews in the fight in a few weeks, according to Associated Press.

“If they use the weapon properly and it’s employed properly, they ought to be able to take out a significant amount of targets and that will make a difference,” he said. But he also noted that the numbers clearly favor the Russians.

“In terms of artillery, they do outnumber, they out-gun and out-range” the Ukrainian forces. 

The aid is the largest single tranche of weapons and equipment since the war began. Biden, who spoke by phone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for about 40 minutes Wednesday, also said the U.S. will send $225 million more in humanitarian assistance to provide safe drinking water, medical supplies, food, health care, shelter and money for families to buy essential items.

The US remains committed, Biden said in a statement, “to supporting the Ukrainian people whose lives have been ripped apart by this war.”

The aid comes as Austin convened a meeting in Brussels of more than 45 nations to discuss support for Ukraine. At the start of the meeting, he warned that the West must step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine and prove its commitment to helping the country’s military fight along a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line in a grinding war of attritionwith Russia.

He told the participating nations, “We can’t afford to let up and we can’t lose steam. The stakes are too high.”

Overall, since the war began in late February, the US has committed about $5.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including this latest package. Officials said that about one-third of the latest $1 billion will be from presidential drawdown authority, which means the Pentagon will take weapons and equipment from it’s own stock and ship them to Ukraine. The remaining two-thirds would be equipment and weapons purchased from industry by the US and then transferred to Ukraine, Associated Press reported.

The 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) has been extended by one day, until Thursday 16 June, in order to facilitate outcomes on the main issues under discussion. WTO said in a press statement. 

Following the consultations by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with the MC12 Chair, Timur Suleimenov, the Vice-Chairs, and the Minister Facilitators, delegations were informed that MC12 will be extended until 16 June, with the closing session scheduled to begin at 3 pm Geneva time.

At the meeting of Heads of Delegation (HoDs) late on 14 June, DG Okonjo-Iweala called on members to go the extra mile to find convergence on the various issues at stake at the ministerial gathering and to be mindful that time is running out to conclude meaningful agreements. The 12th Ministerial Conference was initially scheduled to close today at 6 pm Geneva time.

Microsoft is finally retiring the consumer version of Internet Explorer, BBC reported.

It announced the plan last year, making Internet Explorer 11 its final version.

Internet Explorer debuted on Windows desktop computers in 1995 and by 2004, had cornered 95% of the market. 

But now, Google Chrome, Apple's Safari and Mozilla Firefox are dominant.

Users wanting to stick with Microsoft are being directed to Microsoft Edge, launched in 2015, alongside Windows 10.

Internet Explorer's popularity was dented by the launch of faster browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, as users seized on new applications to navigate platforms including Google Search, Facebook and YouTube.

The rise of smartphones then arguably delivered the fatal blow, with Apple's pre-installed Safari browser and Google Chrome on Android phones helping to shift internet access and usage into the mobile realm, according to BBC.

Mobile and tablet internet usage overtook desktop worldwide for the first time in October 2016, according to independent web analytics company StatCounter. 

And earlier that year, StatCounter saw Google Chrome account for more than 60% of desktop internet usage worldwide, with Internet Explorer and Edge's combined share of the desktop market narrowly falling behind that of Firefox for the first time, BBC reported.

Nepal reported 21 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 856 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 19 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 049 people underwent antigen tests, of which six were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 15 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 97 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged by 29. 89 points to close at 1,966.37 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index fell 4. 60 points to reach 378. 90 points.

A total of 4,182,369 units of shares of 229 companies were traded for Rs 1.49 billion.

Likewise, all sub-indices saw red in today’s market. Life insurance topped the chart with 189. 58 points.

At the end of the day, total market civilization stands at Rs 2. 80 trillion.

Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Govinda Prasad Sharma Koirala clarified that the government has not made any preparation to sign the State Partnership Program (SPP) agreement.

He said so while speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Minister Koirala made it clear that neither the government nor any side have urged the concerned authority to sign the agreement.

Responding to the queries on the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Minister Koirala said that the US government welcomed the interpretative declaration on the same day when the $500 million pact was endorsed from the Parliament. Hence, he urged not to be in doubt as the declaration was part of the agreement.