Nepal

With the support of UML and Oli, the Chairman of CPN (Maoist Center), Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, has become the Prime Minister of Nepal after the single largest party in the Parliament, Nepali Congress, refused to hand over the PM's post to Prachanda.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Nepal in 2019, he pledged that the 170 km railway route would boost landlocked Nepal's economy by improving trade and transport connectivity with China, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. There have been speculations that the railway could also be extended from Kathmandu to the Nepalese tourist hub of Pokhara and southern city of Lumbini, near the Indian border, the report said.

Amid a ceremony held on Wednesday, officials from the Department of Commerce of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China announced that the Rasuwagadhi- Kerung-Jilong border port resumed its operation for two-way trade. Following the ceremony, six cargo trucks carrying Nepal goods left Rasuwagadhi for Kerung town of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.

Out of the Parliament's 265 lawmakers, Prachanda has claimed the support of 170 members. As per the Article 76 (2) of the Constitution, President Bhandari has appointed Prachanda as the Prime Minister of Nepal, reads a statement issued by the President's office. He will be the administered the oath of office and secrecy on Monday at 4 p.m., Tika Dhakal, Information and Communication aide to President Bhandari, said.

A meeting between Prachanda and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist, K.P. Oli on Sunday afternoon reached a tentative agreement to appoint the former as next Prime Minister of Nepal with the formal announcement to be made soon. Prachanda likely to receive the support of as many as four political parties besides the CPN-UML.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba who is also the incumbent prime minister and chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' were the frontrunners for the post of prime minister. After Nepali Congress refused to accept Prachanda as prime minister, Prachanda announced the breaking down of the alliance and reached to meet KP Sharma Oli, the chairman of the CPN-UML. Oli later hosted Prachanda at his residence.

A joint bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Til Prasad Shrestha hearing a habeas corpus petition lodged by Sobhraj had ordered his release if he need not be jailed for another case, and added that arrangements be made to return the French citizen back to his country within 15 days.

Hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Sobhraj, a joint bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Til Prasad Shrestha ordered his release if he need not be jailed for another case, adding that arrangements be made to return the French citizen back to his country within 15 days.

Deuba is widely seen as next Prime Minister of the Himalayan nation from the ruling coalition. But he is also challenged by Chairman of the CPN (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda. In an election held on Wednesday to elect the parliamentary party leader, Deuba secured 64 votes to claim the victory. Party general secretary Gagan Thapa who had staked claim at the post was able to garner 25 votes.

In a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu sought the former's approval for the signing of the agreement at an opportune time, officials said. An official privy to the matter said that the current government, which turned into a caretaker one after the announcement of elections in the first week of August, is unlikely to sign long-term deals with foreign countries including China.