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Donald Trump has said he would prefer a permanent peace agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war over a temporary ceasefire, BBC reported.

Writing on Truth Social after leaving a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska without reaching any deal, the US president said that ceasefires "often times do not hold up".

Trump had earlier said that "great progress" was made during the meeting but "we didn't get there" when it came to a deal.

On his flight back to Washington, he held a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who later said he would travel to Washington DC on Monday, according to BBC.

Article 94 of our Constitution states: Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, no question or resolution shall be presented for decision in a meeting of either House of the Federal Parliament unless one-fourth of the total number of its members are present. For the members of our House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament, Aug 13 was just another day, so most of them chose to not attend the day’s meeting.

Subsequently, heeding to a request from a member of the HoR, the Speaker opted for a headcount and found only 66 members present in the 275-member chamber, short of the one-fourth of the total strength mentioned in the charter by three heads. If a request for a headcount had not come his way, would the Speaker have gone ahead with his proposal on deliberations over the Information Technology and Cybersecurity Bill?

Also, is it not the duty of the Speaker to scan the chamber, with or without a request, and see whether the required number of heads are present for discussions on matters at hand? What happened in the HoR on August 13 is nothing new, though. In the past, some big names have made their presence felt in national politics by remaining absent from HoR meetings for a record number of days. When even the stalwarts leading the nation a record number of times do not bother to ‘grace’  the parliament with their presence, there may not be much motivation for other ‘lawmakers’ to show up at the ‘talk shop’.

Also, even if the ‘lawmakers’ are physically present in the chamber, their minds appear elsewhere. A tampered Civil Service Bill making it through the chamber and reports about government plans to amend the law to legalize polygamy raise serious questions about the ‘lawmaking’ capabilities of our lawmakers.  

Besides, how many of our ‘lawmakers’ actually read draft laws, ponder over their short and long-term consequences for the country and the people, and suggest changes? How many of them opt for a vote of conscience rather than yielding to party whips? And how many even dare obstruct the House proceedings in the interest of the nation, rather than standing for powerful vested interests?

Arun Jaitley states: Parliament's job is to conduct discussions. But many a time, Parliament is used to ignoring issues, and in such situations, obstruction of Parliament is in the favour of democracy. Therefore, parliamentary obstruction is not undemocratic.

In the words of BR Ambedkar: However good a Constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad. However bad a Constitution may be, if those implementing it are good, it will prove to be good. Wrapping up, the vivid image of a President paying his utmost respect to the Constitution during its promulgation in a very hard time comes to mind. Let this image frozen in time inspire our ‘lawmakers’ to take their duties as people’s representatives—and not as some overlords—more seriously. 

Following the completion of the United States’ foreign aid review under the Donald Trump administration, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Nepal Compact has resumed work with “renewed momentum and shared commitment from both sides.”

This week, MCA Nepal signed two major contracts to advance its electricity transmission line projects. Deputy Vice-president of MCC John Wingle, who is currently visiting Nepal, has been in talks with government officials to address technical challenges, primarily related to land acquisition and forest clearance. These issues have slowed progress on transmission construction. Despite significant cuts to US foreign assistance, the Trump administration decided to continue MCC projects in Nepal, framing MCC support not as aid, but as an ‘investment to promote business growth and stability worldwide.’

In signing these contracts, Wingle reaffirmed the US commitment to shared priorities and Nepal’s development goals. “We are honored to work alongside our Nepali counterparts to improve the availability and reliability of electricity in Nepal and enhance regional power trade and integration.” From 2018 to 2022, MCC projects deeply polarized Nepali society, facing both strong support and open opposition, notably from China. Under the agreement, MCC projects must be completed within five years, but two years have already passed. Delays from the American side have raised the likelihood of deadline extensions.

In domestic politics, the Election Commission has decided that Ranjita Shrestha will remain chairperson of the Nagarik Unmukti Party, despite claims from rival leaders that she had been removed. The Commission said the rival faction failed to follow proper procedures to change the leadership. The party, founded by Resham Chaudhary, has been in turmoil over internal disputes. It has announced plans to withdraw support for the government but has yet to formally notify officials due to the ongoing feud.

Similarly, tensions within the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) escalated this week. On Aug 13, a clash broke out in Kathmandu between supporters of party chair Rajendra Lingden and those of his rival, Dhawal Shumsher Rana. The Rana faction has been openly criticizing Lingden ahead of the party’s upcoming general convention and is reportedly creating parallel structures nationwide, deepening internal divisions. Earlier this year, the RPP organized protests in Kathmandu and other districts calling for the restoration of monarchy.

The CPN (Unified Socialist) also faced internal strife after former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal declared that the party’s split was a mistake and urged Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal to step down. Following discussions, both leaders have agreed to minimize their differences and refrain from public criticism in line with party statutes.

Meanwhile, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane’s attempt to secure release from judicial custody failed after the court denied bail. In his absence, the party remains embroiled in controversy and continues to obstruct Parliament over the visit visa scam. Lamichhane has requested to be transferred to Kathmandu, but the government has not acted despite a court clearance.

Inside the Nepali Congress (NC), efforts are underway to unseat Sher Bahadur Deuba as parliamentary party leader, led by Shekhar Koirala and Gagan Kumar Thapa. However, they lack the sufficient number of lawmakers supporting the proposition. This week, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said a senior NC leader privately confirmed the shortfall and reiterated his belief that the current coalition will continue until the 2027 national elections.

The NC has, however, resolved a dispute in Bagmati Province. Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniya secured a confidence vote after Deuba persuaded Bahadur Singh Lama to support him, reportedly promising ministerial positions to Lama’s allies.

Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari has continued low-profile political activities despite her party rescinding her membership. Reports suggest she is preparing to open a contact office to formalize her engagements. For years, she has used the Madan Bhandari Foundation as a platform, which prompted Prime Minister Oli to criticize its activities this week. Many leaders once close to Bhandari are now distancing themselves, fearing disciplinary action.

The CPN-UML is preparing for its statute convention, where key outcomes are already expected — no 70-year age limit and no two-term leadership cap. Next year’s leadership selection convention is anticipated to endorse Oli’s continuation. Party leaders have compared Oli’s leadership ambitions to those of India’s Narendra Modi and China’s Xi Jinping.

In the CPN (Maoist Center), Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal indicated no imminent change in government, saying there were no plans to form or join a new coalition. Prime Minister Oli suggested Dahal made the statement after failing to alter the current alliance.

Beyond party politics, Ramhari Khatiwada, chair of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee of Parliament, resigned this week, stating he had always served as an honest representative. He told the House session on Tuesday that he returned his official vehicle and benefits the day an error in the Civil Service Bill’s “cooling-off period” provision came to light.

Prominent Madhesi leader Anil Kumar Jha left the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party led by Mahanta Thakur and revived the Nepal Sadbhawana Party. In a separate development, the Nepal government endorsed the country’s first National Artificial Intelligence Policy (2025). The US, India and China have expressed interest in supporting Nepal’s AI initiatives, though governance frameworks are still being developed.

In the Madhes Province, monsoon rains have finally arrived, ending a prolonged drought and accelerating paddy transplantation. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, planting has been completed on 77 percent of paddy fields in eight districts and could reach 80 percent this year. Officials warn, however, that delayed planting may reduce productivity.

Nepal has also waived climbing fees for 97 lesser-known mountains, ranging from 5,870 to 7,132 meters, located in Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces. The move aims to attract climbers to new destinations, boost local economies and diversify Nepal’s mountaineering offerings.

The United States Department of State’s 2024 Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Nepal gives a bleak report of persisting human rights concerns, citing credible reports of arbitrary killings, torture, arbitrary detention, abridgment of press freedom, and human trafficking. While the government has prosecuted some abuses, it “did not consistently punish officials convicted of human rights abuses,” as per the report published on Aug 12.

While the 2023 report has a very lengthy introduction and numerous appendices and references, this new report only has a single introductory page which is strong on a desire to “decrease the volume of statistical data in the report.” The country reports by themselves are, overall, one-third the length of the previous year.

International media like AP, AFP, CNN and Reuters among others accused the report of having taken a stunning turn with references removed to sexual orientation abuses, and horrid conditions in ally countries played down as a shot at people who have gotten into trouble with US President Donald Trump.

The report has alleviated condemnation of a number of states that have proved to be staunch supporters of the Republican leader, such as El Salvador and Israel, which human rights activists assert have had established records of violations. Rather, the State Department issued an alarm of what it called a sliding trend of freedom of speech in Europe, including the UK, and stepped up its attacks on Brazil and South Africa, both nations with which Washington has been at loggerheads over a myriad of issues.

The report was published months later after Trump officials drastically rewrote an early draft to make it conform to the principles of ‘America First’, government officials said on condition of anonymity with Al Jazeera.

Coming back to Nepal, the report states while the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) documented no allegations of arbitrary deaths at the hands of security forces during 2024, there were four deaths in prison from January through mid-Aug 2024, reportedly caused by torture, denial of medical attention, and inhumane prison conditions.

One such incident was with Sunil Shahi, who died on 8 April 2024 in the Kailali prison when he was allegedly brutally attacked with an iron rod by prison officials and inmates after a failed attempt to escape. His body showed signs of utmost brutality, and the investigation continues.

The government went on paying the family of Padam Limbu, a protester who succumbed to police injuries in 2023. Limbu, who was declared a martyr, had already been awarded Rs 1.3m in the previous year and was awarded another Rs 500,000 in Feb 2024.

Even though Nepal’s constitution stands up for free expression, journalists have to deal with structural and situational barriers. Ambiguity of the criminal code, defamation legislation, and the Broadcasting and Working Journalist Acts allows selective prosecution and fosters self-censorship.

On 19 Feb 2024, photojournalists protested at Tundikhel when they were not allowed into Democracy Day events organized by the Nepali Army for a last-minute ‘special pass’ requirement.

The report also refers to threats to investigative journalists. Center for Investigative Journalism–Nepal reporter Gopal Dahal was threatened in Dec 2024 by Dharan Sub-metropolitan City Mayor Harka Sampang and his supporters following a critical report.

In July 2024, journalists reporting on a protest against ride-sharing were assaulted by public transit operators. The government took no action about it, the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) said. Death threats were also leveled against the then-general secretary of the FNJ on stories on smuggling.

The Labor Law of 2017 preserves the freedom to bargain collectively and unionize but is not strong in enforcement, particularly in the informal sector, where over 70 percent of the workers and over 90 percent of the women work. The State Department reports that the Ministry of Labor does not have sufficient inspectors to enforce minimum wage, hour, and occupational safety laws since some of the positions are unfilled.

Although there are fines, they are never imposed in the private sector. Occupational safety enforcement has been referred to as “the most neglected area,” and violations were found in agriculture, construction, mining, transport, and factories.

The study finds routine police practice of arresting individuals before interrogation and coercing them into confession. While the law requires suspects to be taken to court within 24 hours, the Advocacy Forum found that police violated this rule in eight percent of over 1,100 cases it followed.

In perhaps the most high-profile case, Kantipur Media Group chair Kailash Sirohiya was held in May 2024 for suspected misuse of an illegitimate citizenship number. The FNJ termed the arrest as retaliation for Kantipur Daily’s reportage on senior politicians.

Protracted pretrial detention is a concern due to court delay, whereby individuals are at times detained for years before their trial. Preventive detention, for as long as 12 months without being charged, was not used in 2024, according to the report. Although torture is criminalized, the statute of limitations stands at six months, and impunity is the norm. NGOs documented 16 allegations of torture in police detention through mid-Aug 2024, mostly affecting poor and vulnerable individuals. Police reluctance to investigate fellow officers, victim intimidation, and coercive extrajudicial settlements all facilitated impunity.

Marriage before age 20 is illegal, but child marriage remains common, especially among Dalits and Madhesis. Between mid-July and the end of the last fiscal year, the police documented 52 cases. Early marriage still restricts education for girls and exacerbates exposure to domestic violence and trafficking.

Only the pre-1990 Bhutanese and Tibetans are accepted as refugees by the government, whereas the majority of the other estimated 12,000 Tibetan refugees are not documented. Other state refugees like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka are regarded as irregular migrants despite having been accepted by UNHCR. Exit permits for third-country resettlement charge refugees Rs 1,063 ($8) a day as a fine for ‘illegal stay’. The government has not been issuing Tibetans with new refugee cards since 1995.

Social stigma against unmarried pregnant women, including migrant workers, is also reported. There were no reports of enforced disappearances, though transitional justice under a newly amended Truth and Reconciliation law still has to be put into practice.

The State Department concludes that there has been no essential transformation in the general human rights situation in the country, while documenting ongoing abuses from arbitrary killings to restriction on press freedom and inadequate labor protections.

The report cites “credible reports” of illegal or arbitrary killings, torture, arbitrary detention, limitation of freedom of speech, and trafficking in people, including forced labor. While the government attempted to investigate some of the abuses, the State Department reports that punishment for convicted officials remained sporadic.

It says that while Nepal has a legal system for protecting rights, the enforcement is selective and uneven, and vulnerable groups like journalists, marginalized groups, refugees, and informal workers remain at risk of systemic threats.

Neighbors’ watch

About India, the report said, “The government took minimal credible steps or action to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses.” It says the same for Sri Lanka too. 

On Pakistan, it added, “The government rarely took credible steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses.”

The report flagged “significant human rights issues” in Bangladesh. It says that primarily under the previous government of Sheikh Hasina, there were credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention; transnational repression against individuals in another country by the previous government, serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, and censorship; significant restrictions on workers’ freedom of association; violence or threats against labor activists or union members; and significant presence of the worst forms of child labor. 

But the report says the interim government of Muhammad Yunus worked with the United Nations and used both its ordinary justice system and the Bangladeshi International Criminal Tribunal to hold the perpetrators accountable.

For China, the report says genocide and crimes against humanity occurred against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. However, the government did not take credible steps or action to identify or punish officials who committed human rights abuses, it says.