Submit your Article

The price of gold has increased by Rs 800 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 192, 900 per tola today.

Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 65 and is being traded at Rs 2, 285 per tola today.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his "unconditional support" on the war in Ukraine, according to Pyongyang state media reports, BBC reported.

In talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in North Korea, Kim said that Pyongyang stood by "all the measures taken by the Russian leadership" to tackle the "root cause of the Ukrainian crisis".

Western officials believe Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia over the last year to fight against Ukraine. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to BBC.

The European Union (EU) and Mexico have expressed disappointment at US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 30% tariffs on their imports from 1 August, BBC reported.

Mexico criticised what it called Trump's "unfair deal" and insisted its sovereignty is non-negotiable, while the EU's chief, Ursula von der Leyen threatened to take "proportionate countermeasures", if needed. Both said they want to keep negotiating with the US.

Trump has warned he would impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decided to retaliate.

This week Trump also announced new tariffs on goods from Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil from next month, according to BBC.

SpaceX has committed $2 billion to xAI as part of a $5 billion equity round, deepening the ties between tech billionaire Elon Musk's ventures as his artificial intelligence startup races to compete with rival OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The investment follows xAI's merger with X and values the combined company at $113 billion, with the Grok chatbot now powering Starlink support and eyed for future integration into Tesla's Optimus robots, the report added.

SpaceX and xAI did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Despite recent controversies involving Grok's responses, Musk has called it "the smartest AI in the world," and xAI continues to spend heavily on model training and infrastructure, according to Reuters.

Progress is stalling at talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, with the sides divided over the extent of Israeli forces' withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources familiar with the negotiations in Doha said on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The indirect talks over a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire continued throughout Saturday, an Israeli official told Reuters, seven days since talks began. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he hoped for a breakthrough soon based on a new U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal.

In Gaza, medics said 17 people trying to get food aid were killed on Saturday when Israeli troops opened fire, the latest mass shooting around a U.S.-backed aid distribution system that the U.N. says has resulted in 800 people killed in six weeks.

Witnesses who spoke to Reuters described people being shot in the head and torso. Reuters saw several bodies of victims wrapped in white shrouds as family members wept at Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots, but that its review of the incident had found no evidence of anyone hurt by its soldiers' fire.

A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switchesflipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel, Reuters reported.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report on the world's deadliest aviation accidentin a decade released on Saturday by Indian accident investigators.

The report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the June 12 crash raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches.

Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines, according to Reuters.

The 212th birth anniversary of the pioneer poet of Nepali literature, Bhanubhakta Acharya, is being celebrated today by organizing a variety of programs across the country and abroad.

Among many noble creations, Bhanubhakta is revered for his Nepali translation of the Ramayana, a Hindu scripture originally written in Sanskrit language. 

He is also recognized as having unified modern Nepal through language, literature and culture, after King Prithvi Narayan Shah united the country geographically. Born on 29 Asar 1871 BS in the village of Chundiramgha in Tanahun,                                                                                                                                                              Bhanubhakta has many other creations including 'Badhushikshya', 'Prashnottar', 'Bhaktamala', 'Ramgeeta' etc. 

Critics and well-wishers alike gather in various events today to offer respect to Bhanubhakta and hold discussions and review on his ideas and creations.

The statue of national icon Bhanubhakta in front of Ranipokhari in Kathmandu will be garlanded after an early morning procession today.

Bhanu Jayanti is also celebrated by reciting the Ramayana, which was translated into Nepali by Adikabi Acharya.

Tribhuvan University Associate Professor Gyannishtha Gyawali, who is studying and researching Bhanubhakta, says that it is fair to call Bhanubhakta Adikabi or pioneer poet as he made a significant contribution to linguistic unity by translating a text like Ramayana into Nepali language. 

Poet Acharya passed away in Asoj 1925 BS. Bhanubhakta's birth anniversary is also celebrated in countries and places where there are many Nepali speakers including Bhutan, Myanmar, Darjeeling, Sikkim and other parts of India.

Meanwhile, in a message on the occasion, President Ram Chandra Paudel has said that we should all reflect on the historical fact that Bhanubhakta helped establish linguistic unity among Nepali speakers around the world.

“Bhanubhakta has made an incomparable contribution to the promotion of Nepali language, literature and culture by making Nepali language the language of the people and making it more advanced,” the President said.

The President has mentioned that Bhanubhakta's Ramayana is a work that promotes the Nepali script and helps in using religion, duty, loyalty, service, etc. in human life.

He has also called for developing the birthplace of Bhanubhakta as a historical and cultural site, while wishing that the day would inspire all of us to love, respect and protect language and culture, deepen the feeling of mutual trust, love and unity among all Nepalis.

There is a possibility of heavy rainfall at one or two places in Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces today. 

Light to moderate rainfall with thunder and lightning is likely at some places in all provinces, according to the Meteorological Weather Forecasting Division. 

Due to monsoon winds affecting across the country, there is also a possibility of light to moderate rainfall and snowfall at a few places in the high-hills and mountainous regions of the country.

Tonight, the weather will remain generally cloudy throughout the country. There is a possibility of light to moderate rainfall with thunder and lightning at some places in Koshi, Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim Provinces and at a few places in the remaining provinces. There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall at one or two places in Koshi and Gandaki Provinces.

Furthermore, there is a possibility of light to moderate rainfall and snowfall at a few places in the high-hills and mountainous regions of the country.