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The schedule for the election of the vacant post of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee President has been published.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has fixed the election for the post of the President of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee for Wednesday, Padma Prasad Pandey, General Secretary of the Parliament, said.

The post had remained vacant after President of the Committee Ramhari Khatiwada resigned amid cooling-off period controversy.

No other party has a claim to this position as there is an agreement between the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will face a pivotal moment on Monday when he meets US President Donald Trump in Washington for their first summit, as the countries' decades-old alliance strains to confront rapid geopolitical changes, according to Reuters.

Lee, who took office in June after a snap election, is seeking to strengthen security ties with Washington while easing tensions with Beijing. His government recently reached a deal to avoid steep US tariffs but hopes trade will not overshadow security issues at the summit.

Officials say Lee aims to build personal trust with Trump and avoid confrontation. After the meeting, he will highlight South Korea’s investments in the US, including support for the struggling shipbuilding sector, Reuters reported.

The dairy farmers in Gorkha district would be provided subsidy in cash for the milk production.

Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Expert Centre, Gorkha has allocated the budget in order to provide a subsidy of Rs 5 per liter based on the product, said Chief of the Centre, senior veterinarian Dr Ananta Koirala.

The Center allocated Rs 1.5 million budget to provide subsidy in milk for the fiscal year 2025/26. Chief Koirala shared, "We planned to provide subsidy in cash to the farmers producing milk so they would be encouraged for more production, thereby making the district self-sufficient in milk."

This scheme would further help the dairy farmers to attract farmers towards animal husbandry, he argued.

An arrangement has been made to collect and sell the milk produced by farmers through cooperatives listed by the Center. The cooperatives in the list have to collect or sell at least 200 liters of milk.

According to the Center, the funding could be provided to 300 thousand liters of milk in the district this year under this scheme. It would provide the grant to farmers through cooperatives, he mentioned.

In Nepal, 27 companies produce oil using both imported and local soybeans, with most of the output exported abroad. In the last fiscal year, Nepal exported more than 500,000 tons of soybean oil. According to the Customs Department, a total of 510,063 tons of soybean oil was exported in fiscal year 2024/25.

RMC Foods Pvt Ltd was the leading exporter, shipping 43,467 tons of oil and capturing 8.43 percent of the total export market. Pashupati Edible Oil Industry ranked second with 38,727 tons (7.47 percent), while Shree Shiva Shakti Ghee Industry followed with 36,106 tons, securing around 7–8 percent of the market share.

Annapurna Vegetable Products Pvt Ltd exported 31,488 tons (6.17 percent), and Swastik Oil Industries Pvt Ltd exported 29,722 tons (5.83 percent). Sushil Vaastani Pvt Ltd (Parsa) exported 28,216 tons (5.53 percent), while Ganapati Vaastani shipped 28,292 tons (5.5 percent). OCB Foods and Feeds Pvt Ltd exported 26,312 tons (5.16 percent), and Baba Vegetable Oil Industries Pvt. Ltd. followed with 25,553 tons (5.01 percent).

Siddhi Vinayak Oil Pvt. Ltd. exported 15,636 tons, accounting for about three percent of total exports. Six other companies—Shri Krishna Oil Refinery Pvt Ltd, Maruti Oil Industry Pvt Ltd, Janakpur Refinery Pvt Ltd, Nandan Ghee & Oil Industry, Bagmati Oil Industries, and Shri Ram Refine Oil Products Pvt Ltd—each held around two percent market share, exporting between 13,500 and 15,000 tons of soybean oil.

Another six companies—Sunshine Foods Pvt Ltd, Kalika Refinery Pvt Ltd, ABC Oil Industry Pvt Ltd, Siddhartha Refinery and Solvent Industry Pvt Ltd, Probiotech Industry Ltd, and Everest Solvent Pvt Ltd—exported between 7,000 and 10,000 tons each, collectively holding around one percent market share. Meanwhile, CG Oil and Derivatives Pvt Ltd and Aarti Vegetable Products Pvt Ltd exported between 3,000 and 5,000 tons, capturing 0.99 percent and 0.73 percent of the market, respectively.

According to the Customs Department, Nepal imported 317,501 tons of soybeans and soybean meal last fiscal year at a cost of Rs 21.145bn. The state collected Rs 1.59bn in revenue from these imports.

Cholera, which broke out in Birgunj city, has now spread to the community level. The source of the outbreak is yet to be identified.

It has been detected in various wards since Friday.

According to Jayamod Thakur, Public Health Officer at the Health Office Parsa, total 79 people were tested positive to cholera in Birgunj so far.

As of 8 pm on Sunday, the number stood at 71, and eight more cases were identified by Monday morning.

Currently, the infected ones are being treated at various hospitals but the primary source of the infection remains unknown.

A representative from the World Health Organization (WHO) has collected water samples from the area for further laboratory testing.

Dr Uday Narayan Singh, spokesperson for Narayani Hospital in Birgunj city, stated that with the rising number of infected patients, there is now a shortage of beds and medical staff to respond to the situation. No substantial institutional support has been provided to the hospital so far in response to the spread.

In addition, the hospital is overwhelmed not only with cholera patients but also with individuals suffering from other health issues. Cases of snakebites and fever are also on rise. The current workforce is inadequate to handle the growing number of patients, he complained.

Bacterial tests were conducted at various hospitals. Narayani Hospital alone has reported 26 cases, followed by 25 in Terai Hospital, nine in National Medical College, three in Bhawani Hospital, and two each in Birgunj Health Care, Ali Artho Hospital, and Mangalam Pathology.

Details of the recent eight cases are still awaited.

US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that Russia has made “significant concessions” in efforts to end its war with Ukraine. In an interview with NBC News, Vance emphasized that Moscow has shown flexibility on some core demands and is engaging in diplomatic talks in good faith, Xinhua reported.

“Of course, the war isn’t over yet, but we are working to bring this to a close,” Vance said, noting that progress would take time.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, said Friday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is not planned. Recent weeks have seen intensified diplomacy, including talks involving former President Donald Trump with both Zelenskiy and European leaders following a Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, according to Xinhua.

China has become a top trading partner for 157 countries and regions worldwide, according to Sun Meijun, head of the General Administration of Customs of China.

In 2024, trade with Belt and Road Initiative countries reached 22trn yuan (around 3trn US dollars), making up over half of China’s total imports and exports. Trade with emerging markets in ASEAN, Latin America, Africa, and Central Asia has expanded at an annual rate of more than 10 percent since 2021, according to Xinhua.

Sun emphasized China’s commitment to international cooperation, citing 519 agreements signed since 2021 to promote mutual economic benefits.

US forces have sped up their withdrawal from the Ayn al-Asad and Victoria military bases in Iraq, with some troops being redeployed to Erbil and a neighboring Arab country, local media reported Sunday. The drawdown, ordered by the US Embassy, is being carried out in phases, according to Xinhua.

The accelerated timeline aligns with last year’s US-Iraq agreement on a gradual coalition exit. Hussein Allawi, security advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, recently confirmed that the US-led coalition’s mission in Baghdad and at Ayn al-Asad is set to conclude in September. The coalition currently maintains around 2,500 troops in Iraq.