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The US has launched a "decisive and powerful" wave of air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, President Donald Trump has said, citing the armed group's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea as the reason, BBC reported. 

"Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies," Trump wrote on his Truth social platform, adding that their "piracy, violence, and terrorism" had cost "billions of dollars" and put lives at risk.

The Houthi-run health ministry said at least 31 people were killed and 101 others were injured in the strikes.

The group - which began targeting shipping in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza - said its forces would respond to US strikes.

The Houthis reported a series of explosions on Saturday evening in Sanaa and in the northern province of Saada - the rebels' stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian-backed rebel group, which considers Israel its enemy, controls Sanaa and the north-west of Yemen, but it is not the country's internationally-recognised government.

Unverified images show plumes of black smoke over the area of Sanaa's airport - which includes a military facility.

In a statement, the Houthis blamed the US and the UK for "wicked" aggression targeting residential areas in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

The UK did not participate in Saturday's US strikes against the Houthi targets but it did provide routine refuelling support for the US, according to BBC.

These attacks, Trump said, "will not be tolerated".

He added: "We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US government had "no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy".

"End support for Israeli genocide and terrorism," he posted on X on Sunday. "Stop killing of Yemeni people."

The Houthis have said they are acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed - often falsely - that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted dozens of merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. They have sunk two vessels, seized a third, and killed four crew members.

The group has not been deterred by the deployment of Western warships to protect merchant vessels, or by multiple rounds of US and British air strikes on its military targets.

Israel has also carried out air strikes against the Houthis since July in retaliation for the 400 missiles and drones that the Israeli military said had been launched at the country from Yemen, most of which were shot down, BBC reported. 

Major shipping companies have been forced to stop using the Red Sea - through which almost 15% of global seaborne trade usually passes - and use a much longer route around southern Africa instead.

Trump said that it had been more than a year since a US-flagged ship had sailed safely through the Suez Canal - which the Red Sea leads to - and four months since a US warship had been through the body of water between east Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

The Suez Canal is the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe, and is particularly important in the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Addressing the Houthis directly, Trump wrote that if they did not stop, "HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE".

But the Houthis were unwavering in their response, saying the aggression would not wane their support for Palestinians.

"This aggression will not go without response and our Yemeni armed forces are ready to answer escalation with further escalation," the group said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also discussed military deterrence operations against the Houthis when he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday.

Rubio emphasised that "continued Houthi attacks on US military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated", a State Department spokesperson said, according to BBC.

Lavrov, for his part, stressed the need for "an immediate cessation of the use of force" and the "importance for all sides to engage in political dialogue in order to find a solution that would prevent further bloodshed", said the Russian foreign ministry.

National Democratic Youth Organization, a youth wing of Rastriya Prajatantra Party, leader Niranjan Bam has been arrested on the charge of burning the photo of CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kama Dahal.

Bam burnt the photo of Dahal while addressing the conference of National Democratic Youth Organization, Makwanpur.

SP Bishwor Raj Khadka informed that preparations are underway to bring Bam to Makwanpur by apprehending him from Chitwan.

Chitwan Police detained Bam from Bharatpur Airport.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said that it is necessary to bring positive change in all sectors of the society through equal participation of men and women.

Inaugurating the Women Leadership Summit 2025 organized by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) today, PM Oli stressed on the need for equal participation of women as Nepali culture and tradition portrayed women as a change-oriented and dynamic force considering them as goddesses.

"The chariot cannot move ahead with only one wheel, so we have to take the entire society forward with equal participation of men and women. We should work with the private sector on the issue of poverty eradication by establishing social justice and equality," the Prime Minister said.

Stating that women have been appointed in high positions as the President, the Chief Justice and the like, he expressed happiness over what he called the increasing participation of women in politics. "But we should not be complacent with this alone. We should push ahead with women in education, entrepreneurship and employment sectors," he added.

PM Oli on the occasion stated that enterprise development and women empowerment have been encouraged by increasing cooperation between the government and the private sector, and the government was committed to promote good governance along with the development of the economy.

He said, "We have to move forward. There should be no turning back. The back gear is sometimes applied only when there are sharp turns on the road. There is no back gear on the highway. Democracy is our highway.”

Stressing that the laws should be made to help in development rather than to hinder the works, the Prime Minister expressed the commitment to refine the government's policies, practices and the laws by studying the suggestions received from the conference.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari said that the present government has given priority to the promotion of industrialization in collaboration with the private sector.

He shared that works were underway for the development of the economic sector through reforms, including issuing guidelines related to the use of domestic products in government bodies.

On the occasion, PM Oli honored national football player Preeti Rai and social activist Ruksana Kapali.

The Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.

The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.

In the second group, five countries, including Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, and South Sudan, would face partial suspensions that would impact tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.

In the third group, a total of 26 countries, including Pakistan, Bhutan and Myanmar, would be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments "do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days", the memo said.

A US official speaking on the condition of anonymity cautioned there could be changes on the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The New York Times first reported on the list of countries.

The move harkens back to President Donald Trump's first-term ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats.

That order directed several cabinet members to submit by March 21 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their "vetting and screening information is so deficient."

Trump's directive is part of an immigration crackdown that he launched at the start of his second term.

He previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and "anywhere else that threatens our security."