Submit your Article

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba held a meeting with CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN (Unified Socialist) Party Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal. 

It has been learnt that  they discussed local level elections among other issues during the meeting.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Deuba held a meeting with President Bidhya Devi Bhandari. 

During the meeting, she urged the Prime Minister to hold the elections on time.

The Election Commission has also been urging the government to fix the date of local level elections.

Though the Prime Minister has been holding discussions with leaders of various on the local level polls, he has not been able to fix the date yet.

The poll body has recommended the government to hold the elections on April 27.

The US has threatened to halt the opening of a key pipeline that would send Russian gas to Western Europe, if Russia invades Ukraine, BBC reported.

Nord Stream 2 would run from Russia to Germany, and on Thursday officials in Berlin said the project could face sanctions if Russia attacks.

Western allies say they will target Russia's economy if it invades, and the latest comments signal a hardening of their stance on the lucrative pipeline.

Russia denies it is planning an attack.

But the build-up of tens of thousands of Russian troops on Ukraine's borders in recent weeks has stoked tensions and escalated fears of an invasion.

"I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward," US state department spokesman Ned Price told NPR.

But he added that he was "not going to get into the specifics" of how it would be stopped, and questions remain over whether the US would have the power to cancel the project.

"We will work with Germany to ensure it does not move forward," Mr Price said.

While the US insisted that it would stop the opening of the pipeline completely, Germany only said it would not rule out imposing sanctions on the project.

The country's foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, told parliament that Western allies were "working on a strong package of sanctions" covering aspects "including Nord Stream 2".

But she added that she would prefer to "continue the dialogue" with Moscow.

Her comments came after the German ambassador to the US Emily Haber tweeted that "nothing will be off the table, including Nord Stream 2" if Russia violated "Ukraine's sovereignty".

The 1,225km (760-mile) pipeline took five years to build and cost $11bn (£8bn). The energy project, which would run under the Baltic Sea, is designed to double Russia's gas exports to Germany.

But as yet it has not started operating, as regulators said in November it does not comply with German law and suspended its approval.

Major European businesses have invested heavily in Nord Stream 2, which is run by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. But many groups object to the plan.

Environmentalists question how it will fit in with German efforts to cut emissions and tackle man-made climate change, while politicians at home and abroad fear it could increase Europe's dependence on Russian energy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously described the pipeline as a "dangerous geopolitical weapon".

Nepali Congress leader Ranjit Karna on Thursday filed a complaint at the District Police Office, Rautahat against Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Janata Samajbadi Party leader Renu Kumari Yadav.

He filed the complaint saying that the statement made by Minister Yadav in Rautahat has escalated communal violence.

Earlier on January 19, Minister Yadav, while addressing a programme, had threatened to kill Janamat Party Chairman CK Raut.

NC leader Karna has demanded stringent action against Minister Yadav.

He filed the complaint at the District Police Office, Rautahat after the District Police Office, Saptari refused to file the case. 

Meanwhile, leader Karna handed over a memorandum to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba through Chief District Officer of Saptari Janardan Gautam demanding action against Minister Yadav.

The Madhesh government has directed the concerned authorities to take action against Janamat Party cadres who had vandalized the vehicles of people's representatives yesterday.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, government spokesperson and Finance Minister Shailendra Prasad Sah directed the concerned authorities to carry out fair investigation into the incidents , provide compensation to the victims and take action against the guilty.

The Janamat Party cadres had attacked and vandalized the vehicles of Province Assembly member Ashok Yadav, Hariban Municipality mayor, deputy mayor and Dr Satish Sah of Jaleshwor Hospital on Wednesday.

"I wish speedy of the injured and urge all the parties to express their views and opinions in a peaceful way," he said in the statement.