The Sen Times

KATHMANDU, March 6 (Reuters) The party of Nepali rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah was ahead on Friday in more than two-thirds of seats where leads were available in general elections, outpacing rivals, including the former prime minister ousted in last years uprising. Shah, 35, the former mayor of Kathmandu, the capital, has dominated the race to become prime minister during the campaign, gaining near-rockstar like fame on social media across the Himalayan nation in the wake of the youth-

Mumbai, Mar 6 (PTI) The rupee stayed range-bound throughout the session on Friday and ended 6 paise lower at 91.70 (provisional) against the US dollar, resisting pressure from inflated crude oil prices and suspected RBI intervention. According to forex experts, heavy selling in domestic equities and withdrawal of foreign funds further dragged the rupee down. However, they said the depreciation was capped following the US administrations decision to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil f

Mumbai, Mar 6 (PTI) Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled over 1 per cent on Friday after a days breather as the conflict in the Middle East entered its seventh day, driving crude oil prices higher. Weakness in the US equities, subdued trend in European markets and relentless foreign fund outflows also dampened sentiments. The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,097 points, or 1.37 per cent, to settle at 78,918.90. During the day, it sank 1,203.72 points, or 1.50 per cent, to 78,812.

Bathusrt (Australia), Mar 6 (The Conversation) The death of Irans supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, during the holy month of Ramadan marks one of the most consequential turning points in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His successor, widely expected to be his son Mojtaba Khamenei, represents both continuity and contradiction in the revolutionary system established after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. At stake is not only who leads Iran, but what the Islamic Republic has become, nearly

KATHMANDU, Nepal, March 6, 2026 (AP) Election officials were counting votes Friday, a day after a parliamentary election in Nepal which was the first nationwide poll since a violent, youth-led uprising forced the former government from power in September. The Election Commission said they had begun vote counting in 53 of the 165 constituencies by Friday morning, and expect to begin work in the remaining areas by the end of the day. Some of the polling stations are high up in remote mountain vil

Australia, Mar 6 (The Conversation) News that a United States submarine had torpedoed and sunk the Iranian warship IRIS Dena about 40 nautical miles off Sri Lanka this week took many observers by surprise. An attack like this so far from the Persian Gulf and in a key trade route connecting China to the Middle East suggests the arena of this war may be widening. But the incident also highlights something rarely well understood outside military and legal circles: the law of naval warfare. Many h

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Thursday said Tehran was reaching out to the United States about making a deal amid U.S. and Israeli strikeson Iran, adding that further action to reduce pressure on oil was imminent. Theyre calling, theyre saying how do we make a deal? I said youre being a little bit late, said Trump, speaking at an event with the Inter Miami soccer team at the White House. Trump touted the U.S. military actions in Iran, saying they were destroying Tehran

Mumbai, Mar 6 (PTI) The rupee stayed firm and gained 2 paise to 91.62 against the US dollar on Friday after the US announced a 30-day waiver for Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, easing pressure on the global energy flow amid the ongoing war in West Asia. Forex traders said that the negative domestic equity markets and withdrawal of foreign funds resisted the rupees upward move despite a retreating American currency. Amid the escalating war involving the US, Israel and Iran, the American

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2026 (AP) US President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administrations immigration crackdown and disaster response. Trump, who said he would nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin in her place, made the announcement on social media after Noem faced a two-day grilling on Capitol Hill this week from GOP members as well

NEW YORK, March 5, 2026 (AP) Most stocks are falling on Wall Street Thursday, as oil prices rise further, but the moves are less severe than earlier in the week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% in morning trading, coming off a frenetic start to the week that saw financial markets worldwide swerve sharply, sometimes hour by hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 452 points, or 0.9%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher. Markets again seem to be following the

Kolkata, Mar 5 (PTI) In a sudden move days before the assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be announced, Governor C V Ananda Bose resigned from his chair in New Delhi on Thursday evening. A shocked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Tamil Nadu Governor and ex-deputy NSA, R N Ravi, will hold additional charge of West Bengal following Boses exit. Bose, who was appointed Bengal governor on November 17, 2022, told PTI: Yes, I have resigned. I have been the Governor of

MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) Iran has not approached Moscow with a request for arms supplies, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Russia has condemned U.S.-Israeli strikes and called for an immediate ceasefire against a country it has drawn closer to in recent years. Iran last year sealed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Moscow, Russia is building two new nuclear units at Bushehr, the site of Irans only nuclear power plant, and Iran supplied Russia with shahed drones for use against Ukrain

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) NATO allies will keep supporting Ukraine despite the situation in Iran, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday. Many leaders in Europe and the United States, Canada say it has to be and, and: make sure that as allies we enable what the Americans are doing in the Middle East and at the same time make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay strong in the fight, he said.

QUETTA, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) Pakistanis fleeing Iran described explosions and missile strikes across Tehran shaking the ground under their feet and engulfing buildings in fire and smoke in a city emptied of many of its residents. The conflict has widened sharply, with a U.S. submarine sinking an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday and NATO air defences destroying an Iranian missile fired towards Turkey. Governments have been scrambling to evacuate stranded citizens, with most of t

MUMBAI, March 5 (Reuters) The U.S. and Israels attack on Iran is expected to weigh more on Indias economic growth than its inflation, which will encourage the Reserve Bank of India to keep interest rates low, three sources familiar with policymakers thinking and analysts said. The conflict, which has rippled out across much of the Middle East, has pushed up oil prices by about 15%, disrupted gas flows from the region and triggered selloffs in Indian equity, debt and currency markets, with the r

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) The rupee rebounded from its lowest level and settled with a gain of 45 paise at 91.60 (provisional) against US dollar on Thursday on the back of a buying trend in domestic equity markets and reports of Reserve Bank intervention. According to forex analysts, the Reserve Bank seems to have intervened to help the local currency from extreme volatility due to uncertainties on the ongoing war involving the US, Israel and Iran. However, a firm dollar, rising crude oil prices and i

Patna, Mar 5 (PTI) Nitish Kumar may well go down in history as an astute politician who managed to occupy the post of Bihar chief minister for longer than all his predecessors, despite his JD(U) never winning a majority in the state assembly. Ironically, though, a section of his die-hard supporters sees the canny leader as a victim of palace intrigue, even as his opponents insist that he has been done in by rank opportunism. The remarks of Madan Sahni, the minister for social welfare and an old

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back in early trade on Thursday tracking a rebound in global equities, after facing heavy losses in the past few trading sessions due to the conflict in West Asia. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 550.27 points to 79,666.46 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 171.45 points to 24,651.95. From the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, NTPC, Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro were among the

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) Rupee recovered from its lowest level and gained 48 paise to trade at 91.57 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, tracking positive momentum in domestic equity markets. However, higher crude oil prices, a strengthening American currency and intense selling of Indian equities by foreign investors amid escalating tension in the Middle East kept the local unit under pressure, forex analysts said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.16 and

KATHMANDU, Nepal, March 5, 2026 (AP) Polls opened Thursday in Nepals first nationwide election since last years violent, youth-led uprising forced the government from power. Security forces patrolled streets and guarded polling stations across the Himalayan nation of about 30 million people as voters lined up to cast their ballots. Counting of votes will begin later Thursday, with results expected over the weekend. Officials said both election campaigning and voting have been peaceful and there

Children living through the latest war in the Middle East or seeing images of the conflict may need help making sense of events that many adults find unnerving. Exposure to war, even if it is indirect, can affect how kids think, feel and behave, according to mental health experts. Child psychologists and development specialists encourage parents to check in with their children, make time for age-appropriate conversations and to correct misinformation without going into excessive detail. Sometime

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2026 (AP) Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt President Donald Trumps war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy. The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally. The vote fell mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted agains

PARIS, March 4, 2026 (AP) Governments across the world scrambled to organize the return of their citizens from the Middle East on Wednesday as travel across the region remained heavily disrupted by the widening Iran war. The first flight repatriating French citizens stranded in the Middle East landed in Paris early Wednesday as French authorities booked about 100 seats onboard for vulnerable people on a priority list, said Eleonore Caroit, the minister responsible for French Nationals Abroad. S

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 4, 2026 (AP) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he supported the strikes on Iran with some regret as they represented an extreme example of a rupturing world order. Carney spoke at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank, during the Australian leg of a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India. He will address the Australian Parliament on Thursday, then fly to Japan on Friday. Geostrategically, hegemons are incre

DUBAI/JERUSALEM, March 4 (Reuters) Mojtaba Khamenei, the powerful son of Irans slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is alive and favoured to emerge as his fathers successor, two Iranian sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Even as new explosions rang out in Tehran, huge crowds of mourners were expected in the streets later on Wednesday to grieve the elder Khamenei, 86, killed by Israeli forces in the first assassination of a nations top ruler by airstrike. The United States and Israel pressed on wi

Mumbai, Mar 4 (PTI) Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty dived more than 1 per cent on Wednesday in tandem with a weak trend in Asian markets as the conflict in West Asia intensified, driving oil prices higher. Falling for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,122.66 points or 1.40 per cent to settle at 79,116.19. During the day, it crashed 1,795.65 points or 2.23 per cent to 78,443.20 but recovered some of the losses in the second half of the session. The 50-share N

WASHINGTON March 4, 2026 (AP) The U.S. Senate is headed towards a vote Wednesday on President Donald Trumps decision to embark on a war against Iran, an extraordinary test in Congress for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear U.S. exit strategy. The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The Senate resolution and a similar bill being voted on in t

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) Americas 2026 midterm congressional elections kicked off on Tuesday as voters cast their ballots in the first Republican and Democratic primaries in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas. There were marquee races, particularly in Texas, that offered the first glimpse of how the two parties are navigating President Donald Trumps tumultuous second term, and ahead of Novembers general election that will decide control of the U.S. Congress. Republicans hold razor-thin maj

SYDNEY, March 4 (Reuters) Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said on Wednesday that he was surprised at the benign reaction in financial markets over the conflict in the Middle East, and it may take a couple of weeks for investors to more fully digest the impacts. I look at the market reaction, and Im actually surprised that the market reaction has been more benign given the magnitude of this as you might think, Solomon said in a speech at a business summit in Sydney. The Week in Breakingviews new

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2026 (AP) An operations center targeted by an Iranian drone strike that killed six American soldiers on Sunday was located in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait, miles away from the main Army base, according to satellite images and a U.S. official. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the hub was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses. The developme

Mumbai, Mar 4 (PTI) Rupee slumped 69 paise to an all-time low of 92.18 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, as a sharp spike in crude oil prices amid geopolitical tensions following the escalation of the USIran conflict weighed on investor sentiment. Forex traders said the domestic currency is under severe pressure due to a sharp spike in crude oil prices, with Brent Crude crossing the USD 82 per barrel level in futures trade in the wake of the Iran crisis, which dented investor se

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) The U.S. military on Tuesday identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran as the Trump administration warned the intensifying conflict would lead to more American casualties. Among six U.S. military deaths so far, the four soldiers were members of an Iowa unit of the U.S. Army Reserve. They died on Sunday when a drone slammed into a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the U.S. military said on Tuesday. The Pentagon said

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2026 (AP) Tensions flared as questions mounted at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday over the Trump administrations shifting rationale for war with Iran as lawmakers demand answers over the strategy, exit plan and costs to Americans in lives and dollars for what is quickly becoming a widening Middle East conflict. Trump officials made their case at the Capitol during a second day of closed-door briefings, this time with all members of the House and Senate ahead of a looming war po

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026 (AP) Israel stepped up airstrikes against Iranian missile launchers and factories Tuesday, and Iran retaliated across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel. As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon where Israel said it struck Hezbollah militants the American embassy in Saudi Arabia came under drone attack. Four days into a war that President Donald Trump suggested would last several weeks but perhaps longer, hundreds of people

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) Britain is deploying HMS Dragon, an air defence destroyer, to Cyprus after the runway of its Akrotiri base there was hit by an Iranian-made drone. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday he was sending the naval vessel along with helicopters with counter-drone capabilities to the region, as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies. France and Greece said they would also send anti-missile and anti-drone systems after the British base on the island was hit on Mond

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) U.S. lawmakers slammed the State Department on Tuesday for urging U.S. citizens in the Middle East to evacuate three days after the U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran started and when air travel is severely disrupted, saying it was a sign of lack of proper planning. On Monday, the Department urged Americans across 16 countries in the Middle East to immediately depart the region using available commercial transportation without offering any U.S.-government-vouched me

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2026 (AP) Throughout his political career, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has steered his country along two pillars of foreign policy: an ironclad partnership with the United States and a relentless diplomatic and covert battle against the rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Now, with Israel and the U.S. in a joint war against Irans leadership, those two strategic paths risk clashing with each other. By enlisting the U.S. in what he views as Israels existenti

LONDON, March 3, 2026 (AP) Keir Starmer has never had a bad word to say in public about Donald Trump. That is not being reciprocated now as the American president lambasts the British prime minister over his reluctance to join the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. The dispute is roiling a relationship that Starmer worked hard to forge, and further straining trans-Atlantic ties frayed by Trumps America first foreign policy and transactional approach to international relations. This was the most soli

JERUSALEM, March 3 (Reuters) Israels military on Tuesday reported strikes in the Tel Aviv area of Israel from Iranian missiles. Search and rescue forces, together with numerous emergency teams, are currently operating at the impact sites in central Israel, the military said. The circumstances of the impact are under review. Israels ambulance service said it was treating three people at the sites who were lightly injured. Israeli police said there were several impact areas involving munition fra

PARIS, March 3 (Reuters) French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot held a call on Monday with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss the Iran war and both agreed to work on de-escalation, Barrots office said in a statement. Both ministers committed to seeking a political solution that would guarantee collective security and take into account the aspirations of the Iranian people, the statement said. Barrot reiterated the Iranian regimes responsibility for the ongoing escalation, after it unj

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026 (AP) The Israeli military said soldiers are operating in southern Lebanon as it continues strikes against Hezbollah. In a statement, it said the troops are positioned at several points near the border in what it described as a forward defense posture as it battles Hezbollah militants. It said the deployment is part of a broader effort to increase security for residents in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon. It has also beefed up troops and ai

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) Former President Bill Clinton told lawmakers that President Donald Trump told him he had some great times with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before their relationship soured, according to a video released on Monday. In a videotaped deposition to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, the former Democratic president said under oath that Trump brought up Epstein at a golf tournament in 2002 or 2003, after Clinton left office and more than a decade

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2026 (AP) The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran add yet more question marks around a U.S. economy already buffeted by on-and-off tariffs, weak hiring, and lingering inflationary pressures. The war has already raised oil prices and could lift prices at the pump as early as this week, but the ultimate impact on the economy and inflation will depend on the length and severity of the conflict, economists say. Should it wind down in a week or two, its economic effects would be mi

BATON ROUGE, La. March 3, 2026 (AP) As people awoke to headlines over the weekend about deadly U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and potential of widening conflict, alerts, social media and conversations at the dining room table were consumed by the news. While medical experts say it is normal for people to experience stress and anxiety or feeling that the world descended into chaos overnight it is important to find coping mechanisms and ways to responsibly take in the news in order to protect one

BEIRUT, March 2, 2026 (AP) Lebanese civilians fled from the countrys south and from Beiruts southern suburbs on Monday, seeking refuge in schools in Lebanons capital following a new and deadly escalation between Israel and the Iran-allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Lebanons Health Ministry reported at least 31 people were killed and 149 wounded in overnight strikes in the Beirut suburbs and southern Lebanon. The Lebanese government later Monday slammed Hezbollahs decision to enter Irans

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump pressed ahead with military strikes against Iran despite private warnings from senior aides that the escalation could be difficult to contain and carry political risks for Republicans in Novembers midterm elections, according to two senior White House officials and a Republican close to the administration. The large-scale attack has drawn near-unanimous praise from foreign policy hawks in Washington, who have long dreamed of toppling the

VIENNA, March 2, 2026 (AP) Irans Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday alleged that airstrikes by the United States and Israel targeted the Natanz enrichment facility in his country. That contradicts an assessment by the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi who said that up to now the agency has no indication that nuclear facilities have been hit in Iran. Again they attacked Irans peaceful safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday. Their justification that Iran want

KUWAIT CITY, March 2 (Reuters) Several U.S. military aircraft crashed in Kuwait early on Monday, but all crew members survived and were in stable condition, Kuwaits Ministry of Defence said, as conflict widened across the Middle East. In a separate incident, smoke was seen rising from the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait City, and fire trucks and ambulances were in the area, a witness told Reuters. There were no responses to requests for comment on the embassy incident from the U

Mumbai, Mar 2 (PTI) The rupee depreciated 21 paise to 91.29 against the US dollar on Monday, amid higher crude oil prices, a strong American currency and intense global volatility due to the escalated Middle East tension. Negative equity market sentiment and massive withdrawal of foreign funds also weighed on the Indian currency, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.23 and declined further to 91.29 against the greenback in initial deals, trading 21 paise

MUMBAI, Mar 2 (Reuters) The Indian rupee is expected to fall past the 91 per dollar mark on Monday after the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran over the weekend, risking protracted conflict in the Middle East, which sapped risk appetite and sparked a sharp rise in oil prices. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated the rupee will open in the 91.28-91.32 range versus the U.S. dollar, having settled at 90.9750 on Friday. Air strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran over the weekend resulted in the d