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Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday that she was submitting a proposal to reform the country's hydrocarbon law, as investors in the U.S. push for easier access to the South American country's oil industry, Reuters reported. 

Rodriguez said the reforms would "allow these investment flows to be incorporated into new fields, fields where no investment has ever been made and into fields where there is no infrastructure."

Rodriguez said funds from oil would go to workers and public services, according to Reuters. 

A small French military contingent has arrived in Greenland's capital Nuuk, officials say, as several European states deploy small numbers in a so-called reconnaissance mission, BBC reported. 

The limited deployment, which also involves Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK, comes as US President Donald Trump continues to press his claim to the Arctic island, which is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the initial contingent would be reinforced soon with "land, air, and sea assets".

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has told reporters that she presented the medal for her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump at a private White House meeting on Thursday, but did not say if he accepted it, BBC reported. 

"I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans," she said after meeting Trump, the first time the two have met in-person. 

In the weeks after US forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Trump has declined to endorse Machado, whose movement claimed victory in 2024's widely contested elections, as its new leader, according to BBC. 

Iran reopened its airspace after a near-five-hour closure amid ⁠concerns about possible military action between the US and Iran that forced airlines to cancel, reroute or delay some flights, Reuters reported. 

Iran closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET (2215 GMT) on Wednesday, according to a notice on ‌the US Federal Aviation ‌Administration website. 
 

A British diplomat has been ordered to leave Russia, with officials accusing the man of being an intelligence agent working undercover at the embassy in Moscow, BBC reported. 

The man, who has not been identified, has been stripped of his accreditation and must leave the country within two weeks, Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday.

In a statement, the ministry added that it had summoned British charge d'affaires Danae Dholakia over the matter, according to BBC. 

Two persons, including a minor died and 11 others were injured when a container truck collided with a bus at Naya Basti in Kankai Municipality-3, Jhapa along the East-West Highway on Thursday. 

The deceased have been identified as 40-year-old Sushma Rajbanshi of Bhadrapur Municipality-8 and her son 18-month-old Aarut Rajbanshi.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Khagendra Bahadur Khadka of the District Police Office, the accident occurred when the container (Me 1 Cha 4515), heading towards Maidhar from Biratamode, collided head-on with the bus (Na 5 Kha 2149) this morning. .

The condition of some of the injured is reported to be serious. 

Police are searching for the bus driver, while the container driver, Jaqeer Hussain (39) of Biratamode Municipality-6, has been taken into police custody for further investigation. 

Both the revenue and expenditure of the government has appeared weak in the mid-term review of the current fiscal year budget. 

According to the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), the government's revenue has shrunk to 38 percent and spending to 35 percent against the annual target as of mid-January. 

For the current fiscal year, the government had proposed a budget of Rs 1,964 billion 110 million. 

By the end of Poush (mid-January), Rs 690 billion 216.4 million had been spent, which comes to 35.14 percent of the annual target. 

The budget expenditure under the current headings for the reporting period is 41.25 percent of the annual target. 

Out of Rs 1,181 billion allocated for current headings, Rs 487 billion 143.1 million has been spent so far. 

The capital expenditure has been reduced to 12.12 percent. 

For the current fiscal year, recurrent budget of Rs 407 billion 888 million was proposed, but only Rs 494.2 million has been spent so far. 

Similarly, under the financial management heading, Rs 375 billion 242 million was allocated for the current fiscal year, and by mid-January 2026 Rs 153 billion 644.9 million has been spent. 

This expenditure constitutes 40.95 percent of the annual allocation for this heading. 

This year the government has set a target of generating total revenue of Rs 1533 billion 446.9 million. 

As of mid-January this year, the revenue generated was only Rs 588 billion 514.2 million which comes to 38.38 percent of the annual target. 

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1, 500 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. 

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 276, 500 per tola today.  It was traded at Rs 278, 000 per tola on Tuesday. 

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 5, 485 per tola.