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Russia has warned Lithuania of "serious" consequences after it banned the rail transfer of some goods to the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, BBC reported.

Russia "will certainly respond to such hostile actions," senior security official Nikolai Patrushev said. 

Lithuania says it is only following the EU sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Kaliningrad - a strategic region where Russia's Baltic Fleet is headquartered - has no border with mainland Russia.

The western territory was annexed from Germany after World War Two in 1945 and is bordered by EU and Nato members Lithuania and Poland.

The region - where an estimated one million people live - relies heavily on imports of raw materials and spare parts from Russia and the EU.

Regional governor Anton Alikhanov said the ban would cover around 50% of the items that Kaliningrad imports.

During a visit on Tuesday to Kaliningrad, Mr Patrushev said the blockade by Lithuania was instigated by the West "in violation of... international law".

The secretary of Russia's Security Council warned that "appropriate measures" would be taken "in the near future".

"Their consequences will have a serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania," he added, without giving any further details, according to BBC.

Earlier on Tuesday, the EU ambassador was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry over the blockade.

Last week, the Lithuanian authorities announced they would ban goods subject to EU sanctions from passing through their territory to Kaliningrad.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said: "It's not Lithuania doing anything: it's European sanctions that started working from 17 June... It was done with consultation from the European Commission and under European Commission guidelines."

The EU has echoed Lithuania's statement, saying that the country is just implementing sanctions imposed by the EU as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions list includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology.

As a member of the Nato military alliance, Lithuania is protected by collective defence treaties, BBC reported.

US state department spokesman Ned Price said the US was standing by Lithuania, adding that the country's commitment to Nato's Article 5 - which views an attack on one member state as an attack on all - was "iron clad".

Trump supporters threatened election officials and their families after they refused to quash his 2020 defeat, a congressional panel has heard, BBC reported.

The speaker of Arizona's statehouse, Rusty Bowers, told the committee probing last year's Capitol riot that the harassment continues to this day.

A Georgia voter counter said she was afraid to leave home after ex-President Donald Trump specifically targeted her.

The House of Representatives panel accuses Mr Trump of an attempted coup.

The select committee has conducted a nearly yearlong investigation into how Trump supporters invaded Congress on 6 January 2021 to disrupt lawmakers as they certified Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.

On Tuesday, in the fourth public hearing so far, the panel heard from election workers in the states of Arizona and Georgia. Mr Biden defeated Mr Trump in both states, which had previously backed Republicans for the White House.

"We received... in excess of 20,000 emails and tens of thousands of voice mails and texts, which saturated our offices and we were unable to work, at least communicate," Mr Bowers, speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, told the select committee.

The witness - who campaigned for Mr Trump in 2020 - said the threats and insults have continued with protesters outside his house attempting to smear him as a paedophile.

"It was disturbing, it was disturbing," Mr Bowers said, according to BBC.

He recalled Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani at one point telling him: "We've got lots of theories, we just don't have the evidence."

The panel also heard testimony from Shaye Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, who became the targets of conspiracy theories in their jobs as election workers in Fulton County, Georgia.

Although Mr Biden won the state by nearly 12,000 votes, Mr Trump and his supporters spread unfounded claims of mass voter fraud. 

In recorded messages, Mr Trump had called Ms Moss "a professional vote-scammer and hustler", alleging the mother-daughter duo cheated to help Democrats.

"I've lost my name, I've lost my reputation, I've lost my sense of security," Ms Freeman said through tears, in video presented by the committee on Tuesday.

"Do you know what it feels like to have the president of the United States target you?"

Ms Moss said she faced "a lot of threats wishing death upon me", and that the harassment - including racial abuse - had "turned my life upside down".

"I no longer give out my business card. I don't want anyone knowing my name."

Ms Moss said she is reluctant to go anywhere, including the supermarket, and has gained about 60lb (27kg) in weight, BBC reported.

She told the committee that Trump supporters had visited her grandmother's home, looking for her and hoping to make a "citizen's arrest".

Lawmakers also heard from Republican poll organisers in Georgia about their difficulty in stamping out conspiracies fanned by Mr Trump.

Gabriel Sterling, a top election official in Georgia, told the committee that fighting the election scam claims "was like a shovel trying to empty the ocean".

His boss - Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Mr Trump repeatedly pressed to "find" the votes he needed to win the state - ticked through a laundry list of allegations made by the Trump team in legal action against the state.

"In their lawsuits, they alleged 10,315 dead people [voted]," Mr Raffensperger said, but a thorough review found a total of only four.

The secretary said further investigation had debunked other claims about illegal votes by underage and non-registered voters, as well as convicts.

"We had many allegations and we investigated every single one of them."

The hearings have attempted to tie the former president directly to the efforts to overturn the election, according to BBC.

At Tuesday's hearing, the committee chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, said: "A handful of election officials in several key states stood between Donald Trump and the upending of American democracy."

His deputy on the committee, Liz Cheney, a Republican, said: "We cannot let America become a nation of conspiracy theories and thug violence."

Nepal reported 19 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 731 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 14 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 083  people underwent antigen tests, of which five were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 10 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 124 active cases in the country.

CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has said that there should be a national consensus among major political parties on the fundamental issues of foreign policy and international relations.  

Speaking at a program organized by the Association of Former Nepali Ambassadors (AFNA) he said stability in the domestic polity is a prerequisite for the effective and smooth functioning of external relations.

The former prime minister further added that Nepal should present itself with a reliable and trustworthy policy and behavior while dealing with neighboring countries. The main opposition leader was of the view that Nepal should present all its issues in a frank and clear manner with neighboring countries. He said only an open and frank exchange of dialogue can bring about cordiality in bilateral relations.

 “If there was not internal political upheaval, the map row with India would have been already resolved,” said Oli who as a prime minister took the initiative to issue a new political map incorporating Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadurha. In the bilateral talks with the Indian counterpart, I had presented all the issues in a free and frank manner, he said. 

The former Prime Minister Oli laid emphasis on the need of resolving problems by holding discussions if any problem surfaces in foreign relations. He shared, "Nepal should present itself with reliable and trustworthy policy and behavior before the neighboring countries. Dual characters should not be shown. We should not play any card on the issue of international relations."

The UML chair clarified that although any country may be small in population and geography, Nepal could hold discussions with all countries of the world without any hesitation as the sovereignty of each country is equal.

Oli further added that the government is not consulting with the main opposition party while taking vital decisions related to foreign policy. There is a tradition of soliciting the views of opposition parties before the prime minister's foreign visit but the current government has not reached out to us, he said. 

Lucky Sherpa, former Ambassador and general secretary of AFNA informed that their plan of holding a series of dialogues on foreign policy issues of Nepal.

“We plan to hold a series of dialogues with leaders of major political parties to forge a national consensus on key fundamental issues of foreign policy,” she said. She further added that matters related to foreign policy should not be politicized and there should be broader consultations and discussions before taking a decision on key foreign policy matters. 

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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 39. 93 points to close at 1,924.74 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 8. 90 points to close at 375. 09 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 3,765,516 unit shares of 231 companies were traded for Rs 1. 25 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Life Insurance topped the chart with 203. 18 points.

Meanwhile, Adhikhola Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. NIC Asia Balanced Fund was the top loser as its price fell by 2. 93 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalisation stood at Rs 2.45 trillion.

The Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has decided to halt all the services from tomorrow.

The Association decided to suspend all the flights demanding withdrawal of irresponsible decisions made by the Ministry of Cultural, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Nepal Civil Aviation Authority.

Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the airlines operators said that they were forced to halt all the services after the government did not address their demands.

The Airlines Operators’ Association has been demanding that the government roll back all its decisions at the earliest.

The government has been saying that the planes and helicopters of the private sector cannot park in the Tribhuvan International Airport and also has been saying that there should be two pilots on a single-engine helicopter among others.

Saying that there are lack of technicians and various physical infrastructure has also not been developed properly in other airports, the airlines operators said that they have not option than to park the planes and helicopters in the Tribhuvan International Airport.

The flood situation in Assam deteriorated further on Monday with the death of 11 more persons, taking the death toll to 81, officials said, adding that around 48 lakh people have been affected in 32 of the state's 34 districts, Business Standard reported.

Even as the national and state agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force, are working round-the-clock in the relief and rescue operations, the Assamgovernment has asked the Army to be on stand-by mode to reach out to the affected people.

According to the officials of the AssamState Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the fresh deaths were reported from eight districts while seven persons are missing in five districts.

The officials said that since April this year, due to pre-monsoon and monsoon rain, 64 people including children and women were killed while 17 people died due to landslides.

An ASDMA bulletin on Monday night said that 47,72,140 people, including 10,43,382 children, have been affected by the floods.

In all, 810 relief camps and 615 relief distribution centres have been opened in all the affected areas. A total of 2,31,819 people are staying in the relief camps while over 1,13,485 hectares of crops have been damaged, according to Business Standard.

The water in five rivers -- Brahmaputra, Kopili, Beki, Pagladiya, Puthimari -- is flowing above the danger level at several places.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted: "Hon HM Amit Shah Ji called twice since morning to enquire about the flood situation in Assam. He informed that a team of officials shall soon be sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs to assess the damages caused by the natural calamity. Grateful to HM for his help."

Sarma on Monday held a video conference with the Deputy Commissioners to review the prevailing flood situation.

Considering the widespread damage caused by the floods, Sarma asked the DCs to use the services of NDRF and State Disaster Response Force personnel and if required the Army to reach out to the marooned people.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Debabrata Saikia in a letter to Prime minister Narendra Modi has sought special central assistance for flood-ravaged Assam, Business Standard reported.