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Israeli strikes killed at least 72 people across Gaza overnight and into Saturday, health workers said, as ceasefire prospects were said to be improving after 21 months of war, Associated Press reported.

Three children and their parents were killed in an Israeli strike on a tent camp in Muwasi near the southern city of Khan Younis. They were struck while sleeping, relatives said.

“What did these children do to them? What is their fault?” said the children’s grandmother, Suad Abu Teima, as others knelt to kiss their bloodied faces and wept. Some placed red flowers into the body bags.

Also among the dead were 12 people near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more in apartments, according to staff at Shifa Hospital. More than 20 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, according to health officials, according to Associated Press.

The National Examinations Board, Examinations Control Office has published the results of this year's Secondary Education Examinations (SEE).  According to the board, 61.81 per cent student passed the exam.

NEB Chairman Mahasram Sharma informed that 48,177 students secured 3.60 to 4.00 GPA in this year's examination. Examinees can see their results through the NEB website https://www.neb.gov.np/ or by dialing 1600. This year the SEE was held from March 20 and that a total of 514,071 students had appeared in SEE this year.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that no arrangement or commitment had been made to resume negotiations with the United States. In an interview with state broadcaster IRIB, Araghchi said the possibility of restarting talks was under consideration but would depend on whether Tehran's national interests were protected.Araghchi confirmed that the damage caused by the 12-day war with Israel was "serious" and experts from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran were conducting a detailed assessment.On the same day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the United States has no meetings scheduled with Iran, one day after U.S. President Trump said that the two sides would talk and meet "next week."

Also on Thursday, Iran's Constitutional Council approved a bill, already ratified by the parliament, to suspend the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The bill has been reviewed by the council and is in line with Iran's religious regulations, laws and constitution, council spokesperson Hadi Tahan Nazif said in an interview with state-run IRIB TV on Thursday. Following the approval, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the bill has been submitted to the government for implementation.

Global goods trade posted a strong uptick in early 2025 driven by importers frontloading purchases ahead of anticipated higher tariffs; however, weakening export orders suggest that this momentum may not be sustained. The latest WTO Goods Trade Barometer rose to 103.5 — up from 102.8 in March, while the forward-looking new export orders index fell to 97.9, pointing to weaker trade growth later in the year.

The Goods Trade Barometer is a composite leading indicator for world trade, providing real-time information on the trajectory of merchandise trade relative to recent trends. Barometer values greater than 100 are associated with above-trend trade volumes, while barometer values less than 100 suggest that goods trade has either fallen below trend or will do so in the near future.

While the current barometer reading of 103.5 (represented by the blue line in the chart) exceeds both the baseline value of 100 and the quarterly trade volume index (represented by the black line), the decline in export orders and the temporary nature of frontloading suggest that trade growth may slow in the months ahead as enterprises import less and start to draw down accumulated inventories.

The most predictive barometer component, the new export orders index (97.9), has dipped below its baseline value of 100 into contraction territory, signalling weaker trade growth later in the year. On the other hand, most other barometer components have risen above trend. Transport-related indices, including air freight (104.3) and container shipping (107.1), reflect increased movement of goods. The automotive products index (105.3) also is above trend due to resilient vehicle production and sales. The electronic components index (102.0) has climbed above trend after underperforming in 2023 and 2024. Finally, the raw materials index (100.8) shows only modest growth, just above baseline.

World merchandise trade volume growth moderated in the fourth quarter of 2024 but it is likely to rebound in the first quarter of 2025 based on the goods barometer and preliminary trade data. The WTO Secretariat's Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report of 16 April 2025 projected stable trade growth of 2.7% for 2025 under a low-tariff scenario reflecting policy conditions at  the start of the  year, and a ­‑0.2% contraction under actual policies in place as of mid-April. Subsequent developments, including US-China and US-UK trade agreements as well as higher tariffs on steel and aluminium, have nudged the forecast up and down slightly leaving the overall outlook basically flat at 0.1%.  However, trade contraction is possible, for example if US reciprocal tariffs are reinstated, or if trade policy uncertainty spreads globally. Source WTO

The United States has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the U.S., a White House official said on Thursday, amid efforts to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies.

President Donald Trump earlier said the United States had signed a deal with China on Wednesday, without providing additional details, and that there might be a separate deal coming up that would "open up" India, according to Reuters.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Arzu Rana Deuba has left here for Rome, Italy to participate in the 44th session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Conference today. The FAO Conference is taking place from June 28-July 4. Foreign Minister Rana is scheduled to address the main session as well as other high-level events at the FAO, according to the Foreign Ministry.  

Nepali Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the FAO, Bharat Kumar Regmi, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development are in Foreign Minister Rana led-delegation.  Following the conference, Minister Rana is scheduled to participate in programmes organized by Investment Board of Nepal in Milan of Italy as well as in Hamburg and Berlin, Germany.   Foreign Secretary, Amrit Bahadur Rai, and high-ranking officials at the Ministry saw off Foreign Minister Rana at Tribhuvan International Airport this morning.

Kathmandu-- Preparations have been completed for Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's official visit to Spain beginning tomorrow.     

PM Oli is set to pay a visit at the friendly invitation of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for the 'International Conference on Financing for the Development of the United Nations (FFD-4)' to be held in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3.     

Leaders of governments from around the world, global and regional organisations, financial and trade institutions, businesspeople, civil society, and relevant representatives of the United Nations system will participate in this conference on financing for development.     

At the event, Nepal will advocate for raising the voice of the least developed, small, and island nations. The conference will also discuss the implementation of investment commitments made by rich countries for poor and small nations.     

Prime Minister Oli's chief political advisor, Bishnu Prasad Rima,l said that Prime Minister Oli is going to participate in this forum as it is important for promoting international cooperation for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations by the year 2030.     

Stating that the preparations for the Prime Minister's visit are complete, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lok Bahadur Poudel Chhetri said the conference will focus on the challenges of immediate and long-term assistance and investment necessary for sustainable development by improving the global financial structure.     

Chhetri stated that the conference is of utmost importance between developed countries and developing and the least developed countries regarding sustainable development, financing for development, and particularly, development assistance, investment, and technology transfer; hence, high priority and high-level participation will be crucial.     

He shared that this would be Nepal's unique role in the context of it chairing the international coordination of least developed countries.     

During the visit, Prime Minister Oli would deliver a statement at the conference. The Prime Minister would pay a courtesy call on Spain's King Philip II and his Spanish counterpart Sanchez, as well as hold a sideline meeting with leaders of other countries of the world.     

PM Oli is leaving for Madrid via Qatar on Saturday evening to participate in the conference scheduled from June 30 to July 3. He will return home on July 4.     

It is believed that the high-level visit from Nepal would contribute to increasing investment from developed countries in Nepal and attract tourists from European countries, including Spain.

The 21-member delegation includes First Lady Radhika Shakya, PM's Chief Advisor, Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Ghan Shyam Upadhyay, Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Raj Kumar Shrestha, PM Oli's Chief Personal Secretary Rajesh Bajracharya, PM's private doctor Dr Smriti Shakya, among others.     

Similarly, an additional eight people from Spain and New York would join the Nepali delegation, which includes—Nepali Ambassador to Spain, Shanil Nepal, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, Lok Bahadur Thapa, among others. RSS

The price of gold has increased by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 192, 300 per tola today.

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 35 and is being traded at Rs 2, 175 per tola today.