Visiting Chinese leader Li holds meeting with UML Chair Oli
Visiting Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Li Zhanshu held a meeting with CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli at the Parliament building in New Baneshwor on Tuesday.
It has been learnt that the UML delegation and the delegation led by Chinese Speaker Li discussed matters of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation.
Prior to meeting Oli, the Chinese leader held a meeting with National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Timilsena.
Li, who arrived in Kathmandu on a four-day visit to Nepal, held a meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives Agni Prasad Sapkota.
On the occasion, Sapkota and Li signed a six-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) on inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Meanwhile, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Li also held a meeting at the Parliament building this morning.
According to a source, the duo discussed matters of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation.
Nepal to provide relief materials to Pakistan
Nepal has decided to provide relief materials worth Rs 20 billion to Pakistan, which has been hit hard by the floods and landslides. Issuing a press release on Monday, Spokesperson at Home Ministry Phanindra Mani Pokhrel said that the government was providing relief materials in view of the huge loss of lives and properties in the floods and inundation in Pakistan of late. The relief materials would be provided as per the decision of the Council of Ministers on September 6. Nepal has also expressed tribute to those losing lives in the disaster, extended condolences to the bereaved family members, and wished speedy recovery to the injured ones.
'Development should not dent natural asset'
Chief Minister of Madhesh Province Lal Babu Raut has said the ultimate goal of human development is happiness in one's life. Releasing the Human Development Report, 2022/22 in Janakpurdham on Monday, Chief Minister Raut said it was worrying to have growing stress in human life despite increasing development activities across the globe. The report has shown that one out of eight persons is living with mental stress, he reminded, adding that development activities had dented the natural atmosphere, which needs to stop. The Chief Minister said, "Development should aim not only at material progress but also at social transformation and conservation of ecosystem." The government has taken the report finding as useful for making future policy. The programme was held under the chairmanship of Vice Chancellor of Madhes Academy of Health Sciences, Dr Ram Kewal Sah. It was also attended by policy makers, development experts and civil society representatives.
Ukraine war: We retook 6,000 sq km from Russia in September, says Zelensky
Ukrainian forces have seized even more territory from Russia as they continue their counter-offensive, the country's president has said, BBC reported.
Volodymyr Zelensky said troops have now retaken more than 6,000 sq km (2,317 sq miles) from Russian control in September, in the east and the south.
The BBC cannot verify these figures.
Russia has admitted losing key cities in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, in what is seen by some military experts as a potential breakthrough in the war.
Moscow describes its troop withdrawal from the region in recent days as a "regrouping" with the aim of focusing on the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Ukraine's east.
That claim has been ridiculed even in Russia, with many social media users there describing the stated pull-out as "shameful".
And the BBC's James Waterhouse said it was the most significant Russian military retreat since its failed campaign near the capital Kyiv in late March.
Speaking later on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ukrainian forces had made "significant progress" in their counter-offensive, but added that it was too early to predict the outcome.
"The Russians maintain very significant forces in Ukraine as well as equipment and arms and munitions. They continue to use it indiscriminately against not just the Ukrainian armed forces but civilians and civilian infrastructure as we've seen," Mr Blinken said, according to BBC.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Russia still holds about a fifth of the country.
In his late video address on Monday, President Zelensky said: "From the beginning of September until today, our warriors have already liberated more than 6,000 sq km of the territory of Ukraine - in the east and south".
The counter-offensive appears to have been rapid. Last Thursday, President Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had retaken 1,000 sq km, but by Sunday that stated figure had tripled to 3,000 sq km.
Mr Zelensky thanked several of Ukraine's brigades involved in the counter-offensive, describing their fighters as "true heroes".
He did not reveal which Ukrainian cities and villages had been liberated.
Russia's military earlier admitted that its troops had to leave the key cities of Balakliya, Izyum and Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. Russia now controls only a small eastern part of the region.
Significant - albeit slower - advances by Ukrainian troops have also been reported in the southern Kherson region, which borders with Crimea - a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has insisted that military operations in Ukraine will continue "until all the tasks that were initially set" have been fulfilled, BBC reported.
Russia says its forces have been carrying out strikes in those areas retaken by Ukraine in recent days.
Valerii Marchenko, mayor of Izyum, told the BBC the Ukrainian army was in his city and the state flag had been raised.
The military is now engaged in cleaning up the war-torn city and Ukrainian forces are searching for Russian soldiers potentially hiding in people's houses.
Mr Marchenko said that after "about 10 days", residents who had to flee the city would be able to return "safely".
Russia has been accused of targeting civilian infrastructure in revenge for setbacks on the battlefield.
A wave of missile strikes on Sunday caused massive power cuts across north-eastern Ukraine, leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity and running water for several hours, according to BBC.
