Paris erupts in euphoria before skirmishes as PSG win Champions League

Wild celebrations erupted across the French capital on Saturday after Paris St Germain crushed Italian opponents Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time, although skirmishes with police later threatened to spoil the party, Reuters reported.

On the Champs Elysees, bus shelters were smashed up and projectiles hurled at riot police, who fired tear gas and water canons to push back surging crowds as thousands of supporters descended on the boutique-lined boulevard.

There were also clashes with police on the Paris ring road and at least two cars were torched near PSG's Parc des Princes stadium.

Inside the stadium, transformed into a giant fan zone for the night, 48,000 people let out a roar of ecstasy at the final whistle in Munich.

"Total euphoria, crazy atmosphere," said Gilles Gailliot who had been watching the game in the Paris stadium. "It made up for the wait and the years of disappointment. Finally Paris and its supporters have been rewarded," Gailliot added, according to Reuters.

Pentagon chief warns of imminent China threat, asks Asian allies to spend more on defence

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on Saturday that the threat from China was real and potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own defence needs, Reuters reported.

Hegseth, speaking for the first time at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, militaries and diplomats, underlined that the Indo-Pacific region was a priority for the Trump administration.

"There's no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent," Hegseth said, in some of his strongest comments on the Communist nation since he took office in January. He added that any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan "would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world", and echoed Trump's comment that China will not invade Taiwan on the president's watch.

China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to "reunify" with the democratic and separately governed island, by force if necessary. It has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games around Taiwan, according to Reuters.

Ukraine keeps Russia guessing over talks, US senator warns Moscow of sanctions

Ukraine resisted U.S. and Russian pressure to commit to attending another round of peace talks on Monday, saying it first needed to see Russian proposals, while a leading U.S. senator warned Moscow it would be "hit hard" by new U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Moscow and Kyiv to work together on a deal to end their three-year-old war, and Russia has proposed a second round of face-to-face talks with Ukrainian officials next week in Istanbul.

Kyiv has said it is committed to the search for peace, but that it was waiting for a memorandum from the Russian side setting out their proposals.

"For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear, and the negotiations must be properly prepared," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X on Friday after hosting Turkey's foreign minister for talks in Kyiv, according to Reuters.

"Unfortunately, Russia is doing everything it can to ensure that the next potential meeting brings no results," he said, citing the lack of a document from Russia.

US sends nuclear deal proposal to Iran

The US has sent Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington, the White House confirmed on Saturday, BBC reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had been presented with "elements of a US deal" by his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi during a short visit to the Iranian capital.

It comes after a report by the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had further stepped up its production of enriched uranium, a key component in the making of nuclear weapons.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday it was in Tehran's "best interest to accept" the deal, adding: "President Trump has made it clear that Iran can never obtain a nuclear bomb," according to BBC.

 

Hamas makes hostage pledge but demands changes to US Gaza ceasefire plan

Hamas responded to a US ceasefire proposal by saying it is prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners, while requesting some amendments to the plan, BBC reported.

The group repeated its demands for a permanent truce, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid. None of these are in the deal on the table.

It was neither an explicit rejection nor a clear acceptance of the US terms, which Washington says Israel has accepted.

Hamas said it had submitted its response to the US draft proposed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Middle East," according to BBC.

 

Bhotojatra festival to be observed on Sunday, public holiday in Kathmandu Valley

The Bhotojatra festival will be observed on Sunday. 

The cultural festival includes the ritual of displaying the legendary gem-studded Bhoto or vest believed to belong to the Rato Matsyandranath, the deity of good harvest.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has, through a notice today, declared a public holiday in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur - for Sunday on the occasion of the Bhotojatra.

 

 

Gold price increases by Rs 700 per tola on Friday

The price of gold has increased by Rs 700 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. 

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 188, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 187, 800 per tola on Thursday.

The price of silver, however, has dropped by Rs 25 and is being traded at Rs 1, 980 per tola today. 

Govt to import 600,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizer

The government has allocated Rs 28.82 billion for the procurement of chemical fertilizer in the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26 and the volume of the chemical fertilizer would be increased to 600,000 metric tons.

Unveiling the annual budget for FY 2025/26 in the joint meeting of the Federal Parliament on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel made the announcement to allocate Rs 28.82 billion in grant for the import of chemical fertilizer.   

Likewise, necessary preparations would be advanced from the Investment Board of Nepal for establishing the chemical fertilizer factory.

Minister Paudel stated that Rs 400 million has been allocated for the Organic Agriculture Promotion Program to ensure higher agricultural productivity by maintaining the quality of soil.

As announced by the finance minister, promotion of agricultural production would be done along the Mid-Hill Highway and Madan Bhandari Highway.

Similarly, a budget has been allocated for expansion of cash crops, animal husbandry, high-end fruits, forest products, agriculture forest system and others, according to the finance minister.