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A delegation led by Vice President of Vietnam, Vo Thi Anh Xuan, held a meeting with Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav on Sunday. 

The Vietnamese Vice President arrived in Kathmandu on a three-day visit to Nepal at the friendly invitation of Vice President Yadav on Saturday.

During the meeting held today, they discussed the matters of religious similarities as well as immense potentials of religious and cultural tourism in both countries.  

They also exchanged views on the issue of bilateral, regional and international concern, shared Joint-Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prakash Adhikari. 

The two Vice Presidents talked about the bilateral relationship between Nepal and Vietnam, which is based on friendship, goodwill and respect of sovereignty, and is moving ahead with a shared vision in the international forum. 

On the occasion, an understanding has been reached between the two countries to exchange ministry and different level visits. They also discussed that Nepal could learn from Vietnam as the latter is a country having high-economic growth rate as well as possibility of investment, added Adhikari. 

Bilateral trade, investment, digital technology and people-to-people relations were also discussed between them. 

This visit, the first ever highest-level visit to Nepal from Vietnam, coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Vietnam. 

Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city, Reuters reported.

Witnesses reported the sound of explosions non-stop overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighbourhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that its forces have returned to combat in the Jabalia area in recent days, to dismantle militant tunnels and strengthen control of the area, according to Reuters.

It added that the operation there "enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas."

U.S. protectionism is undermining agricultural cooperation with China, Beijing's ambassador to Washington said, warning that farmers should not bear the price of the trade war between the world's two largest economies, Reuters reported.

"It goes without saying that protectionism is rampant, casting a shadow over China-U.S. agricultural cooperation," said Xie Feng, according to the transcript of a speech published by the Chinese embassy on Saturday.

Agriculture has emerged as a major point of contention between China and the U.S. as the superpowers are locked in a tariff war launched by President Donald Trump.

China in March slapped levies of up to 15% on $21 billion worth of American agricultural and food products in retaliation for sweeping U.S. tariffs. Washington and Beijing this month extended a trucefor 90 days, staving off triple-digit duties on each other's goods, according to Reuters.

The end of an exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages coming into the United States is causing multiple international postal services to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the rule, Associated Press reported.

The exemption, known as the “ de minimis” exemption, allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency. 

It is set to expire on Friday. On Saturday, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid confusion over new import duties, according to Associated Press

The deadline for the expansion of the Muglin-Pokhara Road Project (eastern sector) has been extended for the fourth time. 

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has extended the deadline for the fourth time for the eastern section from Jamune to Ambukhaireni in Tanahun.

The Muglin-Pokhara Road Project (Eastern Section) Engineer, Bishnu Prasad Pandey, said the deadline has been extended until October 11, 2025. This is the third extension of this section, with the previous deadline having ended on July 13, 2025.

The blacktopping works on the 41.5 kilometres section from Aambukhaireni to Jamune under the Eastern Sector has been completed in four lanes. Since there are still some other works remaining aside from the blacktopping, a recommendation for a time extension was made to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

 “All the blacktopping work has been completed. The six-lane road in Damuli has been blacktopped in addition to the entire four lanes in other places. The road painting has also been completed in most places. Now, since only a little work remains, we have sent a request for an extension of time,” engineer Pandey added.

He said that the blacktopping work has been completed in the three years since the agreement and in the last 456 days.

An agreement was reached on January 30, 2021, for the road widening works in the eastern sector and work started from April 15, 2021. The contract for this section has been awarded to China Communication Construction.

The roadway has been upgraded into four-lanes with the loan assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The contract for the eastern sector has been awarded for Rs 6. 21 billion..

A man working on the hit show Emily in Paris has died during filming in Venice for the fifth season, BBC reported.

La Repubblica named the man as 47-year-old Diego Borella, who was an assistant director on the show.

Medics were called to Hotel Danieli in the city at around 19:00 local time (18:00 BST) on Thursday, but were unable to save him, the newspaper said.

"We are deeply saddened to confirm the sudden passing of a member of the 'Emily in Paris' production family," a spokesperson from Paramount Television Studios, who produce the show for Netflix, told BBC News.

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, including people sheltering in tents or seeking scarce food, local hospitals said as a famine in Gaza’s largest city puts new pressure on Israel over its 22-month offensive, Associated Press reported.

Israel’s defense minister has warned that Gaza City could be destroyed in a new military operation perhaps just days away, even as famine spreads there.

Aid groups have long warned that the war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation.

Israel has rejected the data-based famine declaration as “an outright lie.” Ceasefire efforts are on hold as mediators await Israel’s next steps, according to Associated Press.

Sri Lanka’s former president was admitted to hospital on Saturday, a day after he was charged with using public funds to finance private international travel, as the government intensified its crackdown on corruption, The Guardian reported.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, 76, was remanded in custody on Friday after being accused of using taxpayers’ money to pay for a two-day visit to the UK in September 2023 to attend a ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton granting an honorary professorship to his wife.

Wickremesinghe has denied the misuse of state money, and said his wife paid her own travel expenses. The visit took place upon Wickremesinghe’s return from the G77 summit in Havana and the UN general assembly in New York, according to The Guardian.

The offences carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in jail and an estimated fine of 16.6m rupees (£41,000).