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Russia's Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 159 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions.

According to the ministry, 127 drones were shot down between 8:00 p.m. on May 20 and 4:05 a.m. on May 21, followed by 32 more between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Moscow time.

The drones were apparently crashed in many locations, including 53 in the Oryol Region, 51 in Bryansk, 37 in Kursk, and six near Moscow, as reported by Xinhua.

An explosion ripped through a coal mine in northern Afghanistan's Samangan province early Wednesday, killing at least seven people and injuring two more, Xinhua reported.

As stated by the provincial police spokesperson, the blast was caused by a buildup of methane gas in one of the province's collieries in the Dara-i-Sufi Payen area, killing seven miners on the spot and injuring two more.

The remains of the trapped workers were found by security forces and medical professionals, and were handed over to their relatives. The injured have been taken to a local health center for treatment, according to Xinhua.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 6. 93 points to close at 2, 670.51 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 0. 04 points to close at 450. 97 points.

A total of 23,026,245-unit shares of 316 companies were traded for Rs 10. 69 billion.

Meanwhile, Om Megashree Pharmaceuticals Limited (OMPL) the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Barahi Hydropower Public Limited (BHPL) was the top loser with its price dropped by 8. 27 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 44 trillion.

England will become the first country to offer a gonorrhoea vaccine, starting in August. The vaccine injection, 30–40 percent effective, will be available through sexual health clinics for gay and bisexual men at higher risk.

With gonorrhoea cases hitting a record 85,000 in 2023, health officials hope the vaccine will curb rising infections. If widely adopted, it could prevent 100,000 cases and save the NHS £8m over the next decade, as reported by BBC.

Scotland is also preparing a similar programme.

China launched the Lijian-1 Y7 carrier rocket on Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. Beijing Time. The launch took place in Dongfeng's commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China.

The rocket carried six satellites, which were successfully put in their allotted orbits. This mission is the sixth in the Lijian-1 rocket series, Xinhua reported.

China’s UN envoy Geng Shuang rejected US accusations over the South China Sea during a Security Council debate, calling the US the “biggest threat” to regional peace.

Responding to US Representative Dorothy Shea, Geng stated that the Council is not the appropriate forum for the issue and accused the US of inciting tensions by sending military vessels under the guise of "freedom of navigation", Xinhua reported.

He reaffirmed China's rejection of the 2016 arbitration ruling and emphasized that collaboration with ASEAN members helps to maintain regional peace. Geng also asked the United States to respect the one-China principle. He emphasized China's commitment to peaceful dialogue and international maritime cooperation.

With just two months of the current fiscal year remaining, the government is significantly behind on both its revenue collection and expenditure targets. The government had allocated Rs 352.35bn for capital expenditure for the fiscal year 2024/25. However, as of mid-May, only Rs 121.36bn, just 34.44 percent of the annual target, has been spent. Although past trends show capital spending rises in the final months of the fiscal year, the remaining Rs 232bn is likely to remain unutilized.

In the last fiscal year, only 63.47 percent of the Rs 302bn capital allocation was spent. Capital spending has averaged around 60 percent over the past four years, a steep decline from the pre-covid average of 70 percent and a sharp fall from highs of over 80 percent percent in 2017/18. These figures reflect a system that struggles with efficiency, planning and execution.

Performance has also been weak on the revenue side. By mid-May the government had collected Rs 927.55bn in revenue, 65.35 percent of the annual target to raise Rs 1,419.30bn. To meet this target, the government needs to raise nearly Rs 500bn over the next two months which is highly improbable if not impossible. Total government income, including foreign grants and other sources of income, reached Rs 954.92bn by mid-May. 

The government had projected a total revenue of Rs 1,471bn in the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, total expenditure stood at Rs 1,164.04bn, or 62.57 percent of the target. The budget deficit now stands at Rs 208bn. The government made a downward revision of the revenue target to Rs 1,286bn through the mid-term review of the fiscal budget in February.  However, even this revised figure now appears out of reach, as the government would still need to collect Rs 364bn in the remaining two months.

Sluggish revenue collection and lower-than-expected foreign grants have affected revenue mobilization in the current fiscal year. The government has been able to mobilize foreign aid of only Rs 16.11bn out of the targeted Rs 52.32bn over the past 10 months. In contrast, the government has already spent more than 68 percent of its recurrent budget. Out of Rs 1,140bn allocated for recurring expenses such as salaries, pensions and subsidies, Rs 767bn, or 68.2 percent of the total allocation, has already been spent. The government has also spent 71.96 percent of the amount set aside for financial management.

Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to Russia's western Kursk region on Tuesday, following the recent departure of Ukrainian forces.

He met with volunteers and inspected the Kursk-II nuclear power plant, accompanied by senior officials including as Sergei Kiriyenko and acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein, according to Reuters.

Russia claimed it beat back a significant Ukrainian assault in April, during which Kyiv's forces momentarily seized up to 1,400 square kilometers with drones and Western weapons.