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Billionaire Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter TWTR.N for about $41 billion, just days after rejecting a seat on the social media company's board, Reuters reported.

Musk's offer price of $54.20 per share, which was disclosedin a regulatory filing on Thursday, represents a 38% premium to Twitter's April 1 close, the last trading day before the Tesla TSLA.O CEO's more than 9% stake in the company was made public.

"Since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company," Musk said in a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor, according to Reuters.

"My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder," Musk said.

Earlier this week, Musk said he had abandoned a plan to join Twitter's board, just as his tenure was about to start. Taking the board seat would have prevented him from a possible takeover of the company, Reuters reported.

A person died and two other sustained injuries when a bus hit a scooter they were riding on at Besigaun in Jorpati of Kathmandu on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as scooter rider Dipen Dahal (18) of Okhaldhunga.

The bus (Ba 3 Kha 1318) heading towards Sundarjal from Jorpati hit the two-wheeler (Bagmati Pradesh 02-012 Pa 5326) coming from the opposite direction yesterday.

He died during the course of treatment at the Jorpati-based Nepal Medical College at around 4 pm, Boudha police said.

A man allegedly killed his wife in Jahada Rural Municipality-7 of Morang district.

According to DSP Deepak Shrestha, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Morang, Narayan Soren (33) of Jahada-7 killed his wife Pano Tudu (32) under the influence of alcohol.

He said that the incident occurred on April 14.

Critically injured in the incident, she was rushed to the Koshi Hospital in Biratnagar but breathed her last during the course of treatment, police said.

DSP Shrestha said that they are searching for Soren who fled the scene after the incident.

Barcelona’s European campaign has gone from bad to worse in its first season post Lionel Messi.

First the Spanish powerhouse was eliminated from the lucrative Champions League, and now it has been knocked out of the second-tier Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt.

The German team stunned Barcelona 3-2 at the Camp Nou to advance to the semifinals on a 4-3 aggregate score, Associated Press reported.

Barcelona was the title favorite, looking to win the one trophy not in its collection. It was playing for the first time in the Europa League and had never won its predecessor, the UEFA Cup, reaching the semifinals on four occasions but not getting to a final. Frankfurt won the UEFA Cup in 1980.

Frankfurt will next face West Ham after the Premier League club advanced to a European competition semifinals for first time since 1976 by eliminating Lyon 4-1 on aggregate, according to the Associated Press.

Earlier, Christopher Nkunku scored twice to help Leipzig reach its first semifinals in a European competition with a 2-0 victory at Atalanta.

Kemar Roofe scored in extra time for Rangers to prevail 3-1 over nine-man Braga for a 3-2 aggregate victory to face Leipzig next.

Leicester became the first team to advance to the semifinals of the inaugural Europa Conference League after coming from a goal down to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the Netherlands.

The Premier League team will next play Roma. With José Mourinho in charge, Roma is one of the favorites to win UEFA’s new third-tier competition. The Italian club got its revenge with a 4-0 victory over Norway’s Bodø/Glimt to make the semifinals 5-2 on aggregate, Associated Press reported.

Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 87 while Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal picked up three wickets each as Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals to go top of the points table, Hindustan Times reported.

Jos Buttler scored a quick-fire half-century but Rajasthan Royals lost regular wickets with their risk-taking approach against Gujarat Titans in 193 chase at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai.

Devdutt Padikkal perished on duck, and Ashwin (8) and Sanju Samson (11) also fell cheaply. Buttler also walked back after scoring a 24-ball 54 and Rajasthan eventually managed to score just 155 in 20 overs.

Earlier, Hardik's unbeaten knock of 87 helped Gujarat Titans post 192/4. He scored his second consecutive fifty while Abhinav Manohar scored 43 as the duo stitched an 86-run partnership to guide the team to a challenging total, according to Hindustan Times.

While Hardik’s 52-ball knock was studded with eight fours and four sixes, Manohar struck four fours and two maximums.

David Miller (31 not out off 14) also provided a late flourish to power the IPL debutants to their highest score of the tournament, Hindustan Times reported.

Sri Lanka is about to default on its debts, two of the world's largest credit rating agencies have warned, BBC reported.

Fitch Ratings lowered its assessment of the South Asian nation, saying "a sovereign default process has begun".

S&P Global Ratings made a similar announcement and said that a default is now a "virtual certainty".

This week, Sri Lanka said it will temporarily default on its foreign debts as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.

Meanwhile, faced with mass protests over major power cuts and the soaring cost of food and fuel, officials have urged Sri Lankans working abroad to send money home, according to BBC.

The new governor of the country's central bank appealed for donations in sterling, US dollars and euros on Wednesday.

He said the money "will be utilised only for the purpose of importation of essentials such as food, fuel and medicine". 

On Monday, Sri Lanka is due to make $78m (£59.4m) of interest payments on its international sovereign bonds.

If the payment is not made within a 30-day grace period it would mark the country's first default on its foreign debt since independence from the UK in 1948.

Fitch's latest rating puts Sri Lanka at "near default" and indicated that its "payment capacity is irrevocably impaired".

"We will downgrade the [rating] once a payment on an issuance is missed and the grace period has expired," the firm said in a statement on Wednesday, BBC reported.

S&P also downgraded Sri Lanka "to reflect the virtual certainty of a default on some affected obligations".

The ratings agency said it was waiting for more details on Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan, or confirmation that its government had failed to pay its creditors. 

"We expect the government to miss paying these coupons," S&P said in a note. A coupon is the interest payment due on a bond.

Credit ratings are intended to help investors understand the level of risk they face when buying a financial instrument, in this case a country's debt - or sovereign bond.

On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on $35.5bn in foreign debt.

Its finance ministry said the impact of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made it "impossible" to pay its creditors, according to BBC.

The country is due to start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week on a loan programme to get its economy back on track.

It steeply devalued its currency last month ahead of talks with the IMF over a bailout, BBC reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused European countries that continue to buy Russian oil of "earning their money in other people's blood," BBC reported.

In an interview with the BBC, President Zelensky singled out Germany and Hungary, accusing them of blocking efforts to embargo energy sales, from which Russia stands to make up to £250bn ($326bn) this year.

There has been a growing frustration among Ukraine's leadership with Berlin, which has backed some sanctions against Russia but so far resisted calls to back tougher action on oil sales.

"Some of our friends and partners understand that it is a different time now, that it is no longer an issue of business and money," Mr Zelensky told the BBC from his situation room in Kyiv on Thursday. "That it is an issue of survival."

The president also reiterated calls for more weapons to be supplied to Ukraine, saying they were not getting supplies fast enough to fend off Russia's assault.

"The United States, the United Kingdom, some European countries - they are trying to help and are helping," he said. "But still we need it sooner, sooner and faster. The key word is now."

Russian troops have in recent weeks pulled back from around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other central and northern parts of the country - apparently abandoning an attempt to seize all of Ukraine by force, according to BBC.

But there are fears now of a bloody and protracted conflict in the east and south of the country, as Russian President Vladimir Putin refocuses his military campaign there in an effort to seize more territory.

The southern port city of Mariupol - a strategic goal for President Putin - has already been devastated by weeks of Russian artillery bombardment. 

President Zelensky told the BBC he thought tens of thousands may have been killed in the city.

"We also have information that as well as those tens of thousands of dead, many have disappeared," he said. "We know their documents have been replaced, they were given Russian passports and taken deep into Russia - some to camps, some to other cities. No one knows what is happening to those people. No one knows how many have been killed."

Mr Zelensky said the atrocities apparently committed by Russian troops in Mariupol, and in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Borodyanka, had further narrowed the possibility of peace talks with the Russians. 

Hundreds of dead have been found in Bucha since it was taken back by Ukrainian forces a little over a week ago, including civilians who were found shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs, as well as widespread reports of sexual violence, BBC reported.

"Bucha is in the process of closing [the possibilities of peace talks]," President Zelensky said. "It's not about me - it's about Russia. They will not have many more chances to speak with us."

He said he had "experienced the entire spectrum of emotions" when he visited Bucha last week, but ended the day with "nothing but hatred towards the Russian military". He accused President Putin and the rest of the Russian army "from top to bottom" of being "war criminals".

The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, a guided-missile cruiser that became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war, sank Thursday after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow’s invasion, Associated Press reported.

Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel with missiles, while Russia acknowledged a fire aboard the Moskva but no attack. US and other Western officials could not confirm what caused the blaze.

The loss of the warship named for the Russian capital is a devastating symbolic defeat for Moscow as its troops regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine after retreating from much of the north, including the capital, Kyiv. 

In his nightly video address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alluded to the sinking as he told Ukrainians they should be proud of having survived 50 days under attackwhen the Russians “gave us a maximum of five.”

Listing the many ways Ukraine has defended against the invasion, he noted “those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom” of the sea. It was his only reference to the missile cruiser, according to the Associated Press.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the ship sank in a storm while being towed to a port. Russia earlier said the flames on the ship, which would typically have 500 sailors aboard, forced the entire crew to evacuate. Later it said the blaze had been contained.

The Moskva had the capacity to carry 16 long-range cruise missiles, and its removal reduces Russia’s firepower in the Black Sea. It’s also a blow to Moscow’s prestige in a war already widely seen as a historic blunder. Now entering its eighth week, the invasion has stalled amid resistance from Ukrainian fighters bolstered by weapons and other aid sent by Western nations.

During the first days of the war, the Moskva was reportedly the ship that called on Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender in a standoff. In a widely circulated recording, a soldier responded: “Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself.”

The Associated Press could not independently verify the incident, but Ukraine and its supporters consider it an iconic moment of defiance. The country recently unveiled a postage stamp commemorating it.

The news of the flagship overshadowed Russian claims of advances in the southern port city of Mariupol, where Moscow’s forces have been battling the Ukrainians since the early days of the invasion in some of the heaviest fighting of the war — at a horrific cost to civilians, Associated Press reported.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday that 1,026 Ukrainian troops surrendered at a metals factory in the city. But Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, rejected the claim, telling Current Time TV that “the battle over the seaport is still ongoing today.”

It was unclear how many forces were still defending Mariupol.