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The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has decided to open electoral coordination with other political parties for the Nov 20 election. It expressed dissatisfaction with the seat distribution in the ruling coalition. Spokesperson of JSP Manish Suman said that the executive meeting held on Saturday at the party office Balkumari decided to keep the option of election coordination open. He said that the party did so after not getting satisfactory seats in the provincial and federal assemblies. It is believed that the ruling coalition has decided to give JSP 17-18 seats for the federal assembly.

Nepal reported 19 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 591 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 17 returned positive. Likewise, 741 people underwent antigen tests, of which 2 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 96 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 925 active cases in the country.

The sixth annual coordination meeting between the border guarding forces of India and Nepal concluded in Kathmandu on Thursday. The meeting was held between Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Inspector General Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) from September 27 to 29. The meeting started at APF Headquarters in Halchowk and ended after the two sides signed an agreement for border cooperation.  The Indian delegation was led by S L Thaosen, Director-General of SSB and from the Nepal side, Raju Aryal, Inspector General of APF was leading the delegation. Pankaj Darad (IPS) IG P.K Gupta, IG and S.Subramaniam DIG were part of the delegation from SSB.  During the meeting both the delegations deliberated on streamlining the mechanism to curb trans-border crimes, timely exchange of information and enhance security across the Indo-Nepal border.  Heads of both forces agreed to develop the mechanism to prevent illegal border crossing of third nation citizens through the border. It was also decided that border forces will continue to reform methods used in view of present-day challenges. They mutually agreed to prevent the misuse of their respective territories by anti-nationals.  The Sashastra Seema Bal delegation also called on Bal Krishna Khand, Home Minister of Nepal at his Office in Kathmandu and reiterated the commitment of SSB to work for strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two border forces of India and Nepal.  The security issues were also discussed for upcoming federal and provincial elections in Nepal. The Director General, SSB and Inspector General, APF have been holding Coordination meetings every year since 2012, alternatively in India and Nepal.  The 5th Annual Coordination meeting between SSB DG and APF IG was held in October last year. Both sides had agreed to take further measures for enhancing coordination and cooperation between their border guarding forces.  The decision was taken in the fifth annual coordination meeting between Director General Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Inspector General, Armed Police Force (APF), Nepal. The 5th Annual Coordination meeting began last year, on October 4 here in the national capital.  The Indian delegation was then led by DG BSF Kumar Rajesh Chandra and included Officers from SSB, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs. The Nepal delegation was led by Shailendra Khanal, IG APF and included Officers from APF, Home and Foreign Ministries of Nepal. (ANI)

The rush of Nepalis returning home for Dasain has started from the four main points of Far West, Gauriphanta in Kailali, Gaddachauki in Kanchanpur, Jhulaghat in Baitadi and Pulghat in Darchula. Since Ghatasthapana, almost five thousand Nepalis have entered Nepal from Gauriphanta border alone. In the border areas, the local governments have arranged for the vaccine and antigen test for covid. Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have also set up help desks.

Nepali cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, accused of rape, said that he will return to Nepal on October 6. Through his social media on Saturday morning, he said that he will return to Nepal to fight the legal battle. He said that his return to Nepal is to surrender and proceed with the legal process against the false accusation against him. “With great hope and strength, I am coming to Nepal on October 6 to fight the legal battle against the false accusations against me,” Lamichhane said. He said that since he is innocent, the law will give fair justice. A complaint was registered in the case of extortion against Nepali skipper Lamichhane at Police Circle, Gaushala. An arrest warrant has been issued by the Kathmandu District Court for further investigation on Lamichhane for the crime of 'not to be forced' under the section 219 of Chapter-18 of the Civil Crimes (Code) Act, 2074. As it was said that Sandeep Lamichhane would be arrested from the airport, he had been hiding abroad for some time.

India's deft diplomacy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) forced China to withdraw its resolution against the AUKUS.  According to sources, the "General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was held in Vienna from September 26-30, 2022. China tried to get a resolution passed against the AUKUS for seeking to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines (but armed with conventional weapons).  China argued that this initiative was in violation of its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It also criticized the role of the IAEA in this regard.  India took an objective view of the initiative, recognising the soundness of the technical evaluation by the IAEA. The Indian Mission to the IAEA in Vienna worked closely with many IAEA member states in this regard. India's considered role helped many smaller countries take a clear stand on the Chinese proposal. Realizing that its resolution would not get majority support, China withdrew its draft resolution on September 30.  Interestingly, the Chinese were confident enough of the success on September 28 to get Global Times to issue an article on the subject.  India's deft and impactful diplomacy was deeply appreciated by IAEA member states, particularly the AUKUS partners. (ANI)

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said on Friday that India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine and stressed that dialogue is the only answer to settle differences and disputes after India abstained in the UN Security Council vote which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of Ukrainian regions, calling for an immediate cessation of violence.  The 15-nation UN Security Council on Friday voted on the draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania that condemns Russia's "organization of illegal so-called referenda in regions within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders." The UN security council voted on the resolutions condemning referendums in Ukraine at UNSC on Friday which were tabled by the US and Albania and failed to get adopted as Russia vetoed it whereas India, China, Gabon, and Brazil abstained.  Explaining the vote, Kamboj urged that all efforts are made by the concerned sides for the immediate cessation of violence and said that dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes.  "Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment. The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open," she said during the address at UNSC. She further highlighted the statements made by the External Affairs Minister in his recent engagements at UNGA during the High-Level Week on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's advice to Russian President Putin during the SCO Summit in Samarkand that this cannot be an era of war, Kamboj said that India is hopeful of an early resumption of peace talks for resolution of the conflict.  "India's position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict. The global order is anchored on principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states," the UN envoy added.  "Escalation of rhetoric or tensions is in no one's interest. It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. Keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation, India has decided to abstain from this resolution," Kamboj said.  Putin signed the documents on Friday to formally announce the annexation of four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia's annexation sparked wide criticism from around the world. The United States announced that it will impose a "swift and severe cost" on Russia.  Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the "United States unequivocally rejects Russia's fraudulent attempt to change Ukraine's internationally recognized borders."  "We will continue the United States' powerful, coordinated efforts to hold Russia to account, cut Russia's military off from global commerce and severely limit its ability to sustain its aggression and project power," he added.  In an earlier briefing on Tuesday, Kamboj said the Ukraine war has resulted in the loss of countless lives and miseries for people particularly women, children and the elderly with millions becoming homeless and taking shelter in neighboring countries.  Ruchira Kamboj said that New Delhi will continue to work with the International Community to mitigate economic hardships resulting from the Ukraine conflict.  During the UNSC briefing, the UN envoy also reiterated that India's approach to the ongoing war in Ukraine will be human-centric as the country firmly believes that global order should be anchored on international law in the UN charter. (ANI)

Hilaree Nelson, an American ski mountaineer, was found dead on Mt. Manaslu, Nepal, near where she went missing. It was earlier confirmed that she had fallen into a crevasse while skiing down the peak of the mountain with her partner, Jim Morrison, on Sept 26. The 49-year-old was hit by an avalanche on her way back to the base. Her body was brought to Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu.  ‘It’s truly a necessity to have a passion as a compass in life’ was Nelson’s philosophy and she lived by it. Passionate about mountaineering, she had climbed many peaks all over the world. She was the first female to summit two 8000-meter peaks (Everest and Lhotse) in 24 hours. Nelson was named one of Men’s Journal’s ‘Top 25 Most Adventurous Women in the Last 25 Years’ as well as one of National Geographic’s ‘Adventurers of the Year in 2018’.  In 2018, Nelson and her partner Jim Morrison also performed the first ski descent of the Dream Line on Lhotse. It was one of the boldest runs of all time. “She was pretty attached to Nepal,” says Jiwan Ghimire, her best friend. “She was a mountaineering enthusiast, and the high peaks of Nepal always had her rushing back after her first visit in 2005,’’ he adds. Nelson started skiing when she was three years old. She was a mother of two and the current North Face Global Athletic Team Captain in Telluride, Colorado. “She was passionate about skiing and the mountains. She lived for them,” adds Ghimire.