Submit your Article

The U.S. Supreme Court let President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday proceed with sweeping cuts to National Institutes of Health grants for research related to racial minorities or LGBT people, part of his crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and transgender identity, Reuters reported.

The justices, in a 5-4 decision, granted the Justice Department's request to lift Boston-based U.S. District Judge William Young's decision in June that the grant terminations violated federal law, while a legal challenge brought by researchers and 16 U.S. states plays out in a lower court.

In a brief order, the majority suggested the challenge to the terminations should have been brought in a different judicial body, the Washington-based Court of Federal Claims, which specializes in money damages claims against the U.S. government. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's three liberal justices dissenting from the decision, according to Reuters.

Google has struck a six-year cloud computing deal with Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab worth more than $10 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, the search giant's second big agreement recently after one with OpenAI, Reuters reported.

Under the agreement, Meta will use Google Cloud's servers, storage, networking and other services, the source, who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential, said.

Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The deal was first reported by the Information, according to Reuters.

Military chiefs from the United States and a number of European countries on Thursday presented options to their national security advisers for providing security guarantees to Ukraine, officials said, Reuters reported.

This followed US President Donald Trump's pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia's 3-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine.

A Pentagon statement said U.S. and European planners had developed the military options for "appropriate consideration" by allied national security advisers. Reuters was first to report that the military leaders were preparing the options, according to Reuters.

The Kaligandaki Corridor has been completely obstructed after a landslide at Rakse. 

A police team from Purtighat-based police post has been mobilized to remove the landslide debris.

Information Officer at the Gulmi District Police Office, Ganga Bahadur Saru, informed that dozers are being used for clearing off the road.

Vehicles en route to Palpa and Butwal through Pabat, Baglung and Ridi have been stranded midway.

Nepal are taking on Pakistan in the Top End T20 Series underway in Northern Territory of Australia. 

In the final match of the group stage under the series, Nepal and Pakistan are set to compete today. 

The match will begin at 3:15 pm Nepali time. 

Nepal are in seventh place in the score board among the 11 teams participating in the series. 

Nepali team is under pressure to win today's match to qualify for the semifinals. 

Leeds United have signed AC Milan striker Noah Okafor for £18m to take spending by Premier League clubs this summer to a record £2.37bn, BBC reported.

The Switzerland striker has joined the Premier League club on a four-year deal.

The 25-year-old becomes Leeds' ninth summer signing since winning the Championship to secure their return to the top flight.

"As a kid, I dreamed of playing in the Premier League. That's why for me it was quite an easy decision," said Okafor. 

"My football suits the Premier League so this is like a dream come true. I can't wait to step on the field, according to BBC

The government has approved the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy, aiming to develop skilled human resources, boost innovation and use AI to transform crucial sectors within the next five years. As per the policy, which was approved by the cabinet on Monday, the government will open AI Centers of Excellence in all provinces with the objective of making AI literacy accessible—from school-level students to the general public. The government also aims to rank Nepal within the top 50 countries on the global AI Readiness Index.

To meet these targets, the government will build a strong AI ecosystem, supported by legal reforms, institutional frameworks and infrastructure. A major focus is on ensuring secure and ethical AI development. For this, the policy envisages formulating new data protection laws, updating existing legislation and creating regulatory sandboxes for testing AI systems safely. According to the policy, AI will be used to modernize agriculture by improving production forecasting, soil monitoring, pest and disease prediction and irrigation. The policy also encourages AI use in energy, with plans to implement smart grids, smart switching and smart meters.

In healthcare, AI will support diagnostic imaging, early disease detection and genomic analysis. Similarly, in the transportation sector, AI will help manage traffic flow, parking systems, and public transit to reduce costs and enhance road safety, the policy states. The government plans to establish a National AI Center to oversee implementation of the policy. As per the policy, AI incubation hubs will also be set up to support startups and innovation, while a “brain-gain” program will be implemented to attract knowledge and expertise from Nepali professionals living abroad.

To ensure AI applications are secure and reliable, the government will introduce benchmarking, certification and standards. Similarly, a National AI Index will track progress, while new guidelines will help prevent misuse of AI—such as spreading misinformation or violating intellectual property rights.

The policy also envisions building state-of-the-art infrastructure like data centers, cloud computing, high-speed internet, high-performance computing and reliable electricity supply. Green infrastructure will be prioritized for setting up data centers in Nepal’s mountainous regions. Likewise, it states that a feasibility study will be conducted to explore local production of AI-related hardware. By integrating AI into sectors like agriculture, health, energy, transportation, tourism and finance, the government hopes to boost productivity, improve service delivery and contribute an additional one percent to the national GDP from the ICT sector.

Boeing is in talks to sell as many as 500 jets to China, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.

Shares of the U.S. planemaker rose 2% before the market open as the potential order would be China's first major purchase of Boeing jets since U.S. President Donald Trump's visit in his previous term.

The two sides are negotiating the details such as jet models, types and delivery schedules, the report said, adding that the order could be the centerpiece of a trade deal between the world's two largest economies.

Boeing declined a comment to Reuters on the matter.

Such a big deal would be a breakthrough for Boeing in the world's second largest aviation market, where orders have stalled amid U.S.-China trade tensions, according to Reuters.