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Representatives of the political parties have expressed their commitment to fully abide by the election code of conduct.

The Election Commission had summoned the representatives of the parties registered with the poll body on Tuesday.

The Commission urged the representatives of the political parties not to violate the election code of conduct.

At least 79 parties have been registered at the Election Commission. The Election Commission has already issued the election code of conduct.

Nepali Congress Vice-President Purna Bahadur Khadka on behalf of his party expressed his commitment to fully adhere to the election code of conduct issued by the Election Commission.

Beduram Bhusal, General Secretary of the CPN (Unified Socialist), said that his party would effectively implement the poll code.

Nepal Cancer Relief Society in Association  with Nepal Research Development Institute organized a one day interactive workshop titled “Commitment for Tobacco Tax increment in Local Government Election Manifesto” at Akama Hotel, Dhumbarahi on March 31st, 2022.

The main objective of the event was to interact and gather political commitment from major political parties of Nepal to include tobacco taxation in their  manifesto for the upcoming election, read a statement issued by the Nepal Cancer Relief Society.

The event was organized to sensitize the political parties about the harm caused by tobacco use and urge them to take initiatives to control tobacco in Nepal.

The taxation in tobacco will help ensure the right to health as stated in Chapter 3 of the Constitution of Nepal. It should be a political agenda of every political parties to increase tobacco tax and ensure the optimal health of their voters, the statement read.

The Election Commission (EC) has started printing ballot papers for the local level elections slated for May 13.

In a routine press meet organized by the EC here on Monday, spokesperson Shaligram Sharma shared that the Janak Education Materials Centre, Bhaktapur has been printing the ballot papers.

According to Sharma, a total of 1,940,000 ballot papers of 77 types and 23 rows will be printed for the upcoming local level elections. He informed that ballot papersof 56 rows will be printed for the Kathmandu district while 16 rows will be printed for Dolpa. 

The Commission has already printed 180,000 sets of sample ballot papers to facilitate the political parties in the election campaigns and for voter education. 

The voter list can be obtained from the Commission paying Rs 7,000 for a nationwide voter list and a province-level voter list for Rs 5,000. The official letter from the political party is mandatory to obtain the voter list. 

Similarly, the voter list of the district could be gained for Rs 3,000, Rs 1,000 for municipality level and Rs 500 for ward level. The official letter from a political party or candidate vying in the election is mandatory to get an electronic copy of the voter list. 

The Commission said that it has already implemented directives relating to voter education, election training, and vote counting among others. RSS

The ruling coalition has formed a committee under the headship of Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel to prepare and monitor the local level elections.

A meeting of the coalition held on Tuesday formed a committee under the leadership of Paudel to prepare and monitor the civic polls scheduled for May 13, CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s press coordinator Surya Kiran Sharma said.

He said that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba briefed the ruling coalition parties on the achievements of his three-day official visit to India.

The prime minister claimed that his visit to India has further strengthened the relationship between the two countries.

The meeting concluded that the head of the government’s visit to India had become successful.

Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushap Kamal Dahal, Janata Samajbadi Federal Council Chairman Baburam Bhattarai, CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal and Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel among other leaders were present in the meeting.

Sri Lanka's top medical body has declared a public health emergency due to a lack of medicines and equipment in the country, BBC reported.

That means state healthcare facilities which a majority of Sri Lankans depend on, will now only prioritise emergency and urgent care services.

The South Asian nation is grappling with power cuts and shortages due to an economic and foreign exchange crisis.

It has led to mass protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Mr Rajapaksa's cabinet has resigned but he has so far refused to go himself. Instead, he called on opposition parties to help him form a national government and accept cabinet portfolios.

The nation's peak medical body, the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) said it had decided to declare a medical emergency following a crisis meeting on Monday, according to BBC.

Its members across the country were reporting critical shortages of medicine and equipment. Hospitals were also struggling to provide even emergency medical care, the association said.

"Both the government and health ministry have failed to prevent a complete breakdown of the medical system," GMOA said in a statement.

"The government has not even been able to guarantee people's right to life and the right to healthcare services." 

Sri Lanka has a universal public health care system, funded by taxpayer money which means citizens can access free healthcare at any state-run facility. 

The announcement is the latest in a series of blows to Sri Lankans who are already subject to rising inflation, power cuts lasting half a day or more, and shortages of food, medicines and fuel.

Anti-government protests are expected to continue on Tuesday in major cities across the country.

In the past days, demonstrations calling for the resignation of the president have picked up momentum, BBC reported.

Protesters even defied a curfew meant to last from Friday to Sunday in order to halt a planned day of protests, after a demonstration outside the president's house on Thursday night turned violent. 

Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for imports of fuel and other goods because of a shortage of foreign exchange, which has exacerbated its worst economic crisis since independence from the UK in 1948.

The country needs foreign currency to pay for imports of fuel. 

The demonstrations mark a massive turnaround in popularity for Mr Rajapaksa, who swept into power with a majority win in 2019, promising stability and a "strong hand" to rule the country, according to BBC.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy planned to speak Tuesday to UN Security Council diplomats outraged by growing evidence that Russian forces have deliberated killed civilians, many of them shot in yards, streets and homes, and their bodies left in the open, Associated Press reported.

The withdrawal of Russian troops from towns around Ukraine’s capital revealed the corpses, which led to calls for tougher sanctions against the Kremlin, especially a cutoff of fuel imports from Russia. Germany and France reacted by expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, suggesting they were spies. US President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.

“This guy is brutal, and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous,” Biden said, referring to the town northwest of the capital that was the scene of some of the horrors.

The discovery of bodies in Bucha was expected to be “front and center” at the Security Council session, said Barbara Woodward, the UN ambassador for the United Kingdom, which currently holds the council presidency.

Associated Press journalists in Bucha counted dozens of corpses in civilian clothes and apparently without weapons, many shot at close range, and some with their hands bound or their flesh burned, according to Associated Press.

After touring neighborhoods of Bucha and speaking to hungry survivors lining up for bread, Zelenskyy pledged in a video address that Ukraine would work with the European Union and the International Criminal Court to identify Russian fighters involved in any atrocities.

“The time will come when every Russian will learn the whole truth about who among their fellow citizens killed, who gave orders, who turned a blind eye to the murders,” he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the scenes outside Kyiv as a “stage-managed anti-Russian provocation.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the images contained “signs of video forgery and various fakes.”

Russia has similarly rejected previous allegations of atrocities as fabrications on Ukraine’s part, Associated Press reported.

Lucknow Super Giants on Monday beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 12 runs to record the second consecutive win of their IPL maiden season, Hindustan Times reported.

Chasing 170 for the win, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost openers Williamson and Abhishek Sharma, and Aiden Markram perished on 12 as the side slumped to 83 for three after 11 overs.

Avesh Khan removed both the openers while Krunal Pandya picked the wicket of Aiden Markram.

Krunal then removed Rahul Tripathi (44) as well. Avesh picked up four and Jason Holder plucked three wickets in the final over as Hyderabad managed to post just 157/9 in 20 overs.

Earlier, KL Rahul (68 off 50) and all-rounder Deepak Hooda (51 off 33 balls) hit half-centuries as Lucknow Super Giants scored 169 for 7, according to Hindustan Times.

Holder finished with 3/34 and Krunal also added two wickets under his belt.

Britney Spears has confirmed that she is in the process of writing a book, confirming recent reports in US media that the star intended to pen a new tell-all memoir, BBC reported.

Spears shared the news in a message posted on Instagram on Monday night. 

The singer said the memoir will tackle painful events in her life that she has "never been able to express openly". 

In November, a judge ended a legal guardianship that controlled many aspects of her life for over a decade.

Spears was put into a conservatorship managed by her father, Jamie Spears, in 2008, when the star faced a mental health crisis. 

The controversial arrangement allowed him to take power over her finances and career decisions plus major personal matters, such as her visits to her teenage sons and whether she could remarry.

While the star didn't reveal any details about a potential release date or publisher, Page Six reported in February that she had reached a $15m ($11.4m) deal with the publishing house Simon & Schuster to chronicle her life, career and relationship with her family during and after her conservatorship, according to BBC.

Spears wrote that the process of writing the book has been "healing and therapeutic," though she added that it had been difficult bringing up past events in her life. 

The 40-year old added that she has taken an "intellectual approach" to writing the memoir. 

However the star also hit out at her mother and sister, who she accused of taking an "indulgence by writing their own books as I couldn't even get a cup of coffee of drive my car". 

Spears has been engaged in a public dispute with her sister, Jamie Lynn, since the later she appeared on Good Morning America to promote her book, Things I Should Have Said. 

The book details her own life story, including her young daughter's near-fatal accident in 2017, her relationship with Britney and the role she played in the singer's controversial conservatorship, BBC reported.