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Visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Mihail Popsoi, today paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

During the meeting held at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar, matters relating to bilateral interests and relations were discussed. They also exchanged views on strengthening mutual cooperation in the areas of climate change, education, culture and trade. 

On the occasion, Prime Minister Oli invited the Moldovan Minister to the 'Sagarmatha Sambaad' (a multi-stakeholder dialogue) that Nepal will be hosting on May 16-18 focusing on climate change, mountains and the future of humanity.

Prime Minister's Chief Advisor Bishnu Prasad Rimal and Joint-secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ganesh Prasad Dhakal, were among those present in the meeting.

Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday killed at least 40 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, according to three hospitals. The strikes hit homes in the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza and the northern town of Beit Lahiya, they said, Associated Press.

Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire that had halted the war and facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. Israel blamed the renewed fighting on Hamas because the militant group rejected an Israeli-backed proposal that departed from their signed agreement.

More than 400 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday alone, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. There have been no reports of Hamas firing rockets or carrying out other attacks.

On Wednesday, Israeli ground troops advanced in Gaza for the first time since the ceasefire took hold in January, seizing part of a corridor separating the northern third of the territory from the south.

Israel, which has also cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, has vowed to intensify its operations until Hamas releases the 59 hostages it holds — 35 of whom are believed dead — and gives up control of the territory. The Trump administration, which took credit for brokering the ceasefire, says it fully supports Israel.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire agreement they reached in January after more than a year of mediation by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Hamas, which does not accept Israel’s existence, says it is willing to hand over power to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority or a committee of political independents but will not lay down its arms until Israel ends its decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state, according to the Associated Press.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the latest strikes. The military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is deeply embedded in residential areas.

The European Hospital in the southern city of Rafah said 26 people, mostly women and children, were killed in strikes on two family homes overnight. One of the strikes killed a father and his seven children, it said.

The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received the bodies of seven people killed overnight in an attack on a home. In northern Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital said it had received the bodies of seven people killed in a strike on a home in Beit Lahiya, a town near the border.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Most of the hostages have been freed in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive, among the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, has killed nearly 49,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many were militants, but says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence, Associated Press.

The war at its height displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population and has caused vast destruction across the territory. Hundreds of thousands of people returned to their homes during the ceasefire, but many found only fields of rubble and the bombed-out shells of buildings.

US President Donald Trump has held what he described as a "very good" hour-long phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, a day after speaking to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, BBC reported.

Zelensky said afterwards that he believed that "lasting peace can be achieved this year" under Trump's leadership.

Possible US ownership of Ukraine's nuclear power plants was also discussed, the White House said, although Zelensky later stated this was only about the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia facility.

The tone of the call seems to be in contrast to Zelensky's visit to the White House last month, in which the two leaders - along with US Vice-President JD Vance - were involved in a tense exchange.

Wednesday marked the first time the two men have spoken since the meeting in the Oval Office - although since then, their teams have met in Saudi Arabia and negotiated a proposed 30-day ceasefire.

While it is backed by Ukraine and the US, Putin rejected the proposal for a widespread pause in the conflict during his phone call with the US president on Tuesday.

During his conversation with Trump, Zelensky said he was open to a partial ceasefire involving a halt on strikes on energy infrastructure, rail and port facilities that could be established quickly - but the Ukrainian president warned his country would retaliate if Moscow violated the terms of the ceasefire.

"I understand that until we agree [with Russia], until there is a corresponding document on even a partial ceasefire, I think that everything will fly," he said, referring to drones and missiles.

Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the call was aimed at aligning Ukraine and Russia "in terms of their requests and needs", adding that ceasefire efforts were on track.

Later, in a more detailed statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump had agreed to help Ukraine source additional air defence systems, particularly in Europe.

The two leaders "agreed to share information closely between their defence staffs as the battlefield situation evolved", he said, according to BBC.

Rubio's statement also said Trump and Zelensky had discussed "Ukraine's electrical supply and nuclear power plants" with Trump saying "the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise".

"American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure," Rubio's statement added.

Zelensky said the topic of power plants had been raised, but that they had only mentioned the Zaporizhzhia facility.

The developments will come as a relief for Zelensky, who described his conversation with Trump as "positive", "frank", and "very substantive", during an online briefing to journalists on Wednesday.

"We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year," he wrote on X.

During the video call with reporters, Zelensky said he believed Putin would not agree to a full ceasefire while Ukrainian troops remained in Russia's western Kursk region, after Kyiv launched a surprise attack on the region in August last year.

While both Zelensky and Putin have said they would agree to halt attacks on energy infrastructure. However, both have since accused each other of continued attacks.

Trump said Wednesday's call with Zelensky lasted about an hour.

"Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs," he wrote on Truth Social, BBC reported.

Technical teams from Ukraine and the US are expected to now meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.

In the White House last month, Trump told Zelensky he was not thankful enough for US military and political support, and that he was "gambling with World War Three".

The US temporarily then suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, but diplomats were able to improve relations and on 11 March the two sides agreed on a ceasefire.

During his call with Trump on Tuesday, Putin agreed to halt Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

But he said a full ceasefire would only work if Ukraine's supporters stopped giving military assistance - a condition Kyiv's European allies have previously rejected.

Hours later both Ukraine and Russia launched attacks, with Kyiv saying hospitals had been targeted.

Officials in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar said that a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a small fire at an oil depot, according to BBC.

Despite the strikes, Kyiv and Moscow carried out an exchange of prisoners on Wednesday. Each side released 175 POWs.

Zelensky described the swap as "one of the largest", adding that Russia included an extra 22 "severely wounded" soldiers.

The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening its partnership with the Government of Nepal.

 In response to inquiries from ApEx, a State Department spokesperson stated, “While programs that do not align with American interests have been terminated, the United States remains committed to strengthening its partnership with the Government of Nepal.”

Building on 77 years of successful collaboration, the United States is dedicated to supporting Nepal’s sovereignty by bolstering democratic resilience and promoting economic opportunities, the spokesperson added. When asked about the list of canceled projects under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the spokesperson noted, “The US Government's review of all foreign assistance is ongoing.”

Recently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had terminated 83 percent of USAID-run programs globally, amounting to the cancellation of 5,200 projects. While reports suggest that dozens of USAID-funded projects in Nepal have also been affected, there has been no official confirmation. Officials indicate that not only are ongoing projects at risk, but several American institutions in Nepal are also on the verge of closure. Regarding specific projects, the spokesperson said, “We do not have additional information to share on specific program awards at this time.”

On March 18, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Arzu Rana Deuba, met with Ricky Gill, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and National Security Council Senior Director for South and Central Asia, on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. Gill assured Minister Deuba that the US would continue to support Nepal. “Gill and I also discussed Nepal-US ties, which are rooted in shared democratic and human rights values,” Rana said. “I am confident that our cooperation will continue to grow over the years.”

In a related development, a federal judge ruled that the dismantling of USAID likely violated the US Constitution. The court order requires the Trump Administration to restore email and computer access to all USAID employees, including those placed on administrative leave.

In his verdict, Judge Theodore Chung wrote, “The court finds that defendants’ actions to shut down USAID on an accelerated basis, including the apparent decision to permanently close USAID headquarters without the approval of a duly appointed USAID office, likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways.”