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Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for "direct talks" with Ukraine, saying they should "start without delay, as early as 15 May", BBC reported.

"We seek serious talks... to remove the root causes of the conflict and start moving towards a lasting, strong peace", he said on Saturday, in a rare televised late-night address from the Kremlin.

It comes hours after European leaders - including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron - visited Ukraine and urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, according to BBC.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Moscow would "have to think this through" - but warned that "trying to pressure us is quite useless".

Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after U.S. pressure and diplomacy, announcing a sudden stop to a conflict that had seemed to be spiralling alarmingly, Reuters reported.

But within hours, violations were reported from the main cities of Indian Kashmir, the territory that had borne the brunt of four days of fighting.

Blasts were heard in Srinagar and Jammu and projectiles and flashes were seen in the night sky over Jammu, similar to the events of the previous evening, according to authorities, residents and Reuters witnessed.

Military spokespeople in both countries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The fighting had been the worst between the old South Asian enemies in nearly three decades and threatened to erupt into a full-scale war in one of the world's most volatile and densely populated regions, according to Reuters.

There were briefly fears that nuclear arsenals might come into play as Pakistan's military said a top body overseeing its nuclear weapons would meet.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava called on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday..

During the meeting held at the official residence of the Prime Minister at Baluwatar, Indian Ambassador Srivastava briefed Prime Minister Oli about recent tensions and scenarios developed between India and Pakistan due to the terrorist attack at Pahalgam of India on April 22.

The Indian Ambassador made it clear that India has only carried out retaliatory attacks but the propaganda that it carried out ‘jet attack’ was not the reality.

He thanked the government of Nepal for the statement made public on Thursday regarding the incident, according to PM Oli’s Secretariat.

Saying Nepal is always in favour of world peace, Prime Minister condemned the terrorist attack as per Nepal’s principle stance against all types of terrorism.

He clarified that Nepal would not allow its territory to be used against its neighbouring countries.

The CPN-UML on Friday issued a whip to its lawmakers to vote in favor of the policies and programs brought by the government for the coming fiscal year 2025/26.

Chief Whip of the CPN-UML Parliamentary Party Mahesh Kumar Bartaula issued such a whip this afternoon. 

"A whip has been issued to all the lawmakers of the party to be physically present in the meeting of the House of Representatives scheduled for May 11 and cast vote in favor of the government's policies and programs for next fiscal year, as it is to be put to a vote in the Parliament meeting," reads a notice Chief Whip Bartaula issued today.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1, 400 per tola in the domestic market on Friday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 190, 800 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 193, 200 per tola on Thursday.

The price of silver, however, has increased by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,960 per tola today.

Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari has said that Nepal was at high risk of disaster.  

Addressing the regional ministerial-level meeting on 'Integrated Early Warning and Early Action System' in Colombo of Sri Lanka on Thursday, Nepal was at high risk of different types of disasters given its geographic location.    

He mentioned that Nepal has recorded huge loss of infrastructures and has suffered economically due to flooding, drought, cold wave, lightning and glacial outbursts every year. 

On the occasion, Minister Adhikari said that Nepal has stressed the need for common understanding and cooperation among different nations for climate resilience and developing effective pre-warning systems, the Minister's Secretariat shared.  

Jointly organized by the Sri Lankan government and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), the meeting held discussions on risk, early warning systems, and coordinated efforts related to risk preparedness in African and Asian countries.

The local residents in Kanchanpur district have hoped for more job opportunities after the completion of the dry port in Dodhara Chandani, Kanchanpur. 

The people here are hopeful of the opening of industries thus creating several jobs. 

With the jobs available in the local market, their obligation to go to the Indian cities seeking employment opportunities will end. 

Many youths from this area in the district often travel to different Indian cities for work.   

Currently, the work of tree felling has gained momentum for the construction of the dry port. The tree felling task has been taking place for the past 10 days. A total of 1,593 trees have to be cut for the port's construction.  

Likewise, a four-lane motorable bridge over the Mahakali river and a six-lane road from Gaddachauki to the dry port have already been completed. 

Ram Khadka (60) of Dodhara Chandani Municipality-1 expressed the locals' hope for jobs opportunities after the construction of the dry port there adding that the new bridge over the Mahakali river and the six-lane road have brought significant changes to the area, leading to optimism about positive changes from the dry port development. 

Likewise, central committee member of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jung Bahadur Malla stated that business from the dry port here could boost economic activities in the districts of Sudurpaschim Province adding that the facility would ensure better access to trade and business access to the Indian capital city New Delhi and other industrial areas of India.

 Malla said that there will be immense job creation, better connectivity, infrastructure and industries for trade and business with the operation of the dry port.   

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India on June 1, 2023 for the construction of the dry port with financial and technical support from India.

There is an influence of the westerly and local winds in the country at present along with a partial influence of the water vapor-rich air coming from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, according to the Meteorological Forecasting Division.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region and fair in the rest of the country this afternoon, the Division stated. 

Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at some places of the hilly and mountainous regions of the country. There is a possibility of light snowfall in some places of the mountainous region. 

Similarly, the weather will be partly cloudy in the hilly region and fair in the rest of the country tonight. 

Light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places of the hilly region. 

There are chances of light rain and snowfall at one or two places in the mountainous region.