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Ukrainian and British officials warned Saturday that Russian forces are relying on weapons able to cause mass casualties as they try to make headway in capturing eastern Ukraine and fierce, prolonged fighting depletes resources on both sides, Associated Press reported.

Russian bombers have likely been launching heavy 1960s-era anti-ship missiles in Ukraine, the UK Defense Ministry said. The Kh-22 missiles were primarily designed to destroy aircraft carriers using a nuclear warhead. When used in ground attacks with conventional warheads, they “are highly inaccurate and therefore can cause severe collateral damage and casualties,” the ministry said.

Both sides have expended large amounts of weaponry in what has become a grinding war of attrition for the eastern region of coal mines and factories known as the Donbas, placing huge strains on their resources and stockpiles.

Russia is likely using the 5.5-tonne (6.1-ton) anti-ship missiles because it is running short of more precise modern missiles, the British ministry said. It gave no details of where exactly such missiles are thought to have been deployed, according to Associated Press.

As Russia also sought to consolidate its hold over territory seized so far in the 108-day war, the US defense secretary said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine “is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all.”

“It’s what happens when big powers decide that their imperial appetites matter more than the rights of their peaceful neighbors,” Lloyd Austin said during a visit to Asia. “And it’s a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in.”

 Nepali delegation led by Minister for Industry, Commerce, and Supplies Dilendra Prasad Badu arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on June 11, to attend the 12^th ministerial conference that will take place on 12-15 June 2022.  

 Minister Badu is accompanied by secretary Ganesh Prasad Pandeya and other high-level government officials. Minister Badu is scheduled to address the meeting.

 Ministers from across the world will have the opportunity to review the functioning of the multilateral trading system, make general statements, and take action on the future work of the WTO.

The Conference will be co-hosted by Kazakhstan and chaired by Timur Suleimenov, Deputy Chief of Staff of Kazakhstan's President. Kazakhstan was originally scheduled to host MC12 in June 2020 but the conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WTO meeting is taking place in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic that battered the world economy and the Russia-Ukraine war which has triggered high inflation across the world. 

A tremor was felt in various places of Kathmandu in the wee hours of Saturday.

According to the Seismilogical Center, the tremor was felt at 2: 36 am and it was of local magnitude 4.7.

Its epicenter was close to Changunarayan of Bhaktapur.

Nepal reported 17 new Covid-19 cases on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 915 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which seven returned positive. Likewise, 1, 155 people underwent antigen tests, of which 10 were tested positive.

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

As of today, there are 109 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 14. 64 points to close at 2, 048. 16 points on Friday.

Similarly, the sensitive dropped by 4. 11 points to close at 392. 25 points.

A total of 3, 045, 838 units of the shares of 229 companies were traded for Rs 8. 94 billion.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 91 trillion.

US Army’s Pacific Commanding General Charles Flynn  paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at the latter’s residence in Baluwatar on Friday.

During the meeting, the duo discussed humanitarian assistance and disaster management among others, the US Embassy in Kathmandu said.

Flynn lauded the continued contribution of Nepal to the UN peacekeeping missions, the Embassy said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Flynn is also scheduled to meet President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

During his stay in Nepal, the US Army top official is scheduled to discuss bilateral interests with Chief of Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma.

China's commercial hub of Shanghai will lock down millions of people for mass COVID-19 testing this weekend - just 10 days after lifting its gruelling two-month lockdown - unsettling residents and raising concerns about the business impact, Reuters reported.

Racing to stop a wider outbreak after discovering a handful of community cases, including a cluster traced to a popular beauty salon, authorities have ordered PCR testing for all residents in 14 of Shanghai's 16 districts over the weekend.

Five of the districts said residents would not be allowed to leave their homes while the testing was carried out. A notice issued by Changning district described the stay-home requirement as "closed management" of the community being sampled.

The latest scare triggered a rush to grocery stores and online platforms to stock up on food, as users of China's Twitter-like Weibo expressed fear they could be locked down for longer, having only started going back to work after the last lockdown was lifted on June 1, according to Reuters.

Some areas had remained sealed off or quickly returned to lockdown due to infections and their close contacts.

"The residential compound next to mine has already been locked down," said Zhang Jian, a 34 year old real estate agent.

"If there is a mass testing and there is another positive case in the compound, it will have a serious impact on our lives."

Raj Shrestha has been appointed as the President of the Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs' Forum- Lalitpur Chapter. He was the Vice President of the Chapter and a member of its Executive Committee.

The first annual general meeting held at Radisson Hotel, Lazimpat on Thursday appointed Shrestha as the President of NYEF Lalitpur Chapter.

He succeeded Aabhushan Jyoti Kansakar.

In his strategic message, Shrestha emphasized on spearheading an action-driven leadership that will place paramount importance on accelerated “growth” as the year-round goal.

The meeting was divided into two sessions, closed and open, whereby the annual financial report and the annual program report of the previous tenure was presented by Shrestha and Subin Shrestha, the newly appointed Vice President for the Chapter.

The Chapter also officially announced their Executive Board Members, who are individuals from a wide range of industries bringing in their expertise and knowledge in taking forward the mission of the chapter for this fiscal year.

Dinesh Shrestha, Executive Committee Member and Vice President of the Industry Department of FNCCI and NYEF National Governing Council President Udeep Shrestha were the chief guests of the event.