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Coach Hugo Broos said South Africa do not fear Egypt's Premier League contingent, Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, ahead of their Group B clash in the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday, Reuters reported. 

Manchester City forward Marmoush scored the equalizer against Zimbabwe, before a late strike from Liverpool's Salah secured a 2-1 win in their opening game in Morocco on Monday.

South Africa beat Angola by the same score in their Group B opener thanks to Lyle Foster's screamer, according to Reuters. 

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo has yet to start a Premier League match this season and has been linked with a loan move in the January transfer window but manager Ruben Amorim says the England midfielder is the future of the club, Reuters reported. 

Mainoo has made 12 appearances this season, with one League Cup start, and is set to miss United's game against Newcastle United later on Friday due to a calf injury.

Amorim said the 20-year-old will have to be patient but he will get his chance in the side, according to Reuters. 

Heavy rain storms across large parts of California triggered floods and mudslides and left three dead as of Christmas night, according to local officials, BBC reported. 

The storms - which were expected to continue through Friday - brought 11 inches (27 cms) of rainfall to some parts of Los Angeles County, prompted evacuations and shut down major roads. 

Emergency responders have had to perform several rescues, including people stuck in vehicles as flood waters rise. California's Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday in Los Angeles and other southern California counties, according to BBC. 

For weeks now, angry and distressed residents in Indonesia's westernmost province have been raising white flags over, the state's slow response to a series of deadly floods, BBC reported. 

Triggered by a rare cyclone in November, the deluge killed more than 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands across the island of Sumatra. In Aceh, the worst-hit province which accounted for nearly half of the deaths, many still do not have ready access to clean water, food, electricity and medical supplies.

In a sign of just how frustrating managing the crisis has become, the governor of North Aceh broke down publicly earlier this month, according to BBC. 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has given a positive assessment of a conversation he had with US envoys on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war, BBC reported. 

Zelensky said Thursday's call with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, which lasted nearly an hour, had yielded "new ideas in terms of formats, meetings, and... timing on how to bring a real peace closer".

He spoke a day after giving details of an updated 20-point peace plan, agreed by US and Ukrainian envoys in Florida, according to BBC. 

President Donald Trump has said the US launched a "powerful and deadly strike" against the Islamic State (IS) group in north-western Nigeria, BBC reported. 

In a post on Truth Social, the US president described IS as " terrorist scum", accusing them of "targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians".

He said the US military "executed numerous perfect strikes", without giving any further details. It is unclear what exactly targets were struck and when, according to BBC. 

Ramesh Lekhak, the former Home Minister, has said that he would appear before the inquiry commission formed to investigate into the Gen-Z movement. 

Talking to media persons following a meeting of the Nepali Congress Central Executive Committee at the party office in Sanepa today, Lekhak said that he plans to present himself before the commission on coming Monday. 

"The commission has sent me a letter on Friday requesting my presence for a statement, and I have confirmed that I will attend on Monday," he stated.

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The 51st convocation ceremony of Tribhuvan University (TU) concluded in Kathmandu on Thursday.

A total of 16,380 students formally received their degrees during the convocation ceremony. These included 11,234 Bachelor’s degree holders, 4,860 Master’s graduates, 130 MPhil scholars, and 152 PhD recipients. Fourteen postgraduate diploma holders also participated in the event.

A total of 89, 591 graduates were eligible for the convocation. 

At the ceremony, a total of 22 students attaining highest results in different faculties were provided with different convocation medals. 

In her address to the ceremony, Prime Minister and University's Chancellor Sushila Karki called for the graduate students to link knowledge with service, skills with integrity and success with society.

On the occasion, chief guest, the noble laureate in Physics in 2015, Dr Takaaki Kajita shared that perpetuation of study and research even after his PhD was attribution to the attainment of a Nobel award. 

"As a physicist, I have spent much of my life exploring the mysteries of the Universe. Physics research tells us that every process takes time, and progress is often invisible until breakthrough happens. Success in life works in the same way," the Nobel laureate Chief Guest Kajita said on the occasion.

According to him, it requires a strong will, continuous effort, and the belief that even when results are not yet visible, your work is building towards something meaningful.

He stated that the future is not decided by those who are the strongest' but is shaped by those who are willing to keep trying. 

"Whether you become teachers, scientists, engineers, policymakers, or leaders in your community –your contributions matter. Society progresses not only because of a few extraordinary individuals, but because many people choose persistence over resignation, and responsibility over indifference." 

He encouraged the graduates to cultivate the qualities: a sense of purpose, resilience, compassion and humility.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Education, Science and Technology and TU Pro-Chancellor Mahabir Pun said that the world now values individual skills more than academic degrees. He added that knowledge should be applied to address societal issues.

The Minister also urged graduates to use their knowledge as a tool to combat poverty and promote the country’s economic development. 

He encouraged them to learn from the Convocation’s Chief Guest, Japanese scientist Takaaki Kajita, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics, emphasizing that small inquiries can lead to great explorations and research.

On the occasion, 22 outstanding performers from various faculties and levels were awarded, including Bishal Joshi from the MPhil program and Raksha Bhetwal from the Master’s degree.

TU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Deepak Aryal said that the convocation marks a take-off point for a bright future for the graduates. 

He stressed that there is no alternative for the graduates to work hard and dedication to unlock opportunities.