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CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal claimed that an environment has been created for all the Maoists to come together at one place.

Speaking at a program organized in the Capital on Sunday, the former Prime Minister claimed that the situation has been readied for all Maoists to come together at one place to protect the country’s transformation.

Saying that they have come to this stage by crossing the divisive chain of unity, he was of the opinion that the environment has been created for all the so-called former Maoists to come to one place.

Chairman Dahal further said that some elements who are against the change are trying to overturn the political change in the country.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba snubbed the meeting of the International Relations Committee under the Federal Parliament.

The Committee summoned the Prime Minister to discuss the State Partnership Program (SPP) and his upcoming US visit.

The SPP has become a hotly debated issue lately, leaving the lawmakers of various political parties divided.

The Committee called Prime Minister Deuba after speculations that Nepal is set to join the SPP during his visit to the United States sparked uproar.

Committee President Pabitra Niraula said that the Prime Minister's Office has informed that he would be able to attend the meeting today due to his busy schedule.

The meeting of the Committee held on Friday decided to hold a discussion with the Prime Minister on SPP.

Two persons died when a jeep met with an accident at Chisapani in Aathbis Municipality-11, Rukum West.

The deceased have been identified as jeep driver Kabiram BK of Bafikot Rural Municipality-8 and assistant driver Kamal Khadka of Musikot Municipality-11.

The four-wheeler (Ga 1 Ja 1897) was heading towards Rimna from Radi when the incident occurred, police said.

Priyanka Rani Joshi has been crowned Miss Nepal 2022 at the 26th edition of the Miss Nepal organized by the Hidden Treasure.

At the grand finale event of the pageant held in Godawari, Lalitpur, Joshi, an entrepreneur, beat 26 other contestants to bag the title.

Similarly, Sareesha Shrestha and Nancy Khadka were named Miss Nepal Earth and Miss Nepal International, respectively.

Likewise, Smarika Sharma won the title of Miss Beauty with a Purpose, Mamata Dhakal Miss Photogenic, Ganga Gurung Farmasi Face of 2022, Rose Kandel Miss Beautiful Hair and Sophia Shrestha Miss Glamor.

World governing body Fifa has teamed up with players' union Fifpro to try to identify people who target players with abusive social media posts, BBC reported.

A report tracked 400,000 social media posts during the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020 and this year's Africa Cup of Nations.

The study found that over 50% of players received some kind of abuse.

The report found that black players who missed penalties were the most abused players in the Euro 2020 final.

BBC Sport understands that England's Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka, who both missed their spot-kicks in the shootout defeat by Italy, were the players who suffered the most abuse during the Euro 2020 final.

"Our duty is to protect football, and that starts with the players who bring so much joy and happiness to all of us by their exploits on the field of play," said Fifa president Gianni Infantino, according to BBC.

"Unfortunately, there is a trend developing where a percentage of posts on social media channels directed towards players, coaches, match officials and the teams themselves is not acceptable. This form of discrimination, like any form of discrimination, has no place in football."

The report found that most of the abuse during the two periods in question came from the players' home countries.

Homophobic (40%) and racist (38%) comments made up the majority of the abuse, according to the report, with most of it remaining online.

The report also states that 90% of accounts flagged as having published abusive comments have a "high probability" of identification.

In response, Fifa and Fifpro are to launch a dedicated 'in-tournament moderation service' that will scan recognised hate speech terms published to identified social media accounts. 

Once detected, the aim is to prevent the comment from being seen by the recipient and their followers. 

"Online abuse is a societal issue and as an industry we cannot accept that this new form of abuse and discrimination affects so many people including our players," said Fifpro president David Aganzo, BBC reported.

"This collaboration recognises football's responsibility to protect the players and other affected groups against the abuse they increasingly face in and around their workplace."

Sri Lanka could have avoided its current economic turmoil if it had gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout sooner, the country's central bank governor says, BBC reported.

P Nandalal Weerasinghe told BBC Newsnight that the delay in seeking outside help was a mistake.

The country has said it needs $5bn this year in support from the international community, including the IMF.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt for the time in its history last month.

"If we had taken the decision to go to the IMF earlier, if we started the debt resettlement process one year before, we could have managed the situation without this kind of suffering in this country," he said.

His comments came as he is attempting to restore order to Sri Lanka's economy, which is experiencing extreme fuel shortages, soaring food prices and a lack of medicines, according to BBC.

A recent survey by the United Nations World Food Programme found that around two thirds of Sri Lankan households have been forced to reduce their food intake.

Mr Weerasinghe said Sri Lanka was experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

A team from the IMF is due to arrive in Colombo for talks on Monday and Mr Weerasinghe will be a key participant in those meetings.

Yet there is uncertainty about whether Mr Weerasinghe, who replaced previous governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal in April, will be reappointed for a full six year term at the end of this month.

"I have expressed my desire to continue," he said.

"I don't think when I took over I had the expectation I would be serving only for two months and go back. If that was the situation, I would not [have] come in… This is not something that can be addressed within two months. It will get worse before it getting better."

A complication in the IMF negotiations is Sri Lanka's substantial borrowing from China, which Mr Weerasinghe said accounts for 15% of the country's total external debt, BBC reported.

The fund has a policy of not bailing out countries unless all its other creditors have first agreed to write down their loans.

"I'm sure China as a good friend of Sri Lanka [will] offer similar relief that will be offered by other creditors as well," said Mr Weerasinghe.

Former Sri Lanka central bank staff have written an open letter to the embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urging him to keep Mr Weerasinghe in the post.

"If anyone is contemplating to remove him from his position as the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, we see it as a highly unpatriotic move with entirely ulterior motives," they wrote.

The World Bank has warned that as many as 12 other developing countries are at risk of default over the coming year.

Analysts say states such as the Maldives, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal are also all on the financial brink.

Egypt, Ghana and Pakistan are also seen as intensely vulnerable, according to BBC.

The head of NATO said on Sunday (Jun 19) that the war in Ukraine could last years and Ukrainian forces faced intensified Russian assaults after the EU executive recommended that Kyiv should be granted the status of a candidate to join the bloc, Reuters reported.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was cited by Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper as saying the supply of state-of-the-art weaponry to Ukrainian troops would increase the chance of liberating the eastern Donbas region from Russian control.

"We must prepare for the fact that it could take years. We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," he said. "Even if the costs are high, not only for military support, also because of rising energy and food prices."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Kyiv on Friday, made similar comments about the need to prepare for a long war in an op-ed for London's Sunday Times newspaper.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday he stressed the need to avoid "Ukraine fatigue" and with Russian forces "grinding forward inch by inch", for allies to show the Ukrainians they were there to support them for a long time, according to Reuters.

In the op-ed, he said this meant ensuring "Ukraine receives weapons, equipment, ammunition and training more rapidly than the invader".

"Time is the vital factor," Johnson said. "Everything will depend on whether Ukraine can strengthen its ability to defend its soil faster than Russia can renew its capacity to attack."

Ukraine received a significant boost on Friday when the European Commission recommended that it be granted EU candidate status - something European Union countries are expected to endorse at a summit this week.

This would put Ukraine on course to realise an aspiration seen as out of reach before Russia's Feb 24 invasion, even if actual membership could take years, Reuters reported.

France votes on Sunday in a high-stakes parliamentary election that could deprive centrist President Emmanuel Macron of the absolute majority he needs to govern with a free hand, Reuters reported.

Voting starts at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), with initial projections expected at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) in an election that could change the face of French politics.

Pollsters predict Macron's camp will end up with the biggest number of seats, but say it is in no way guaranteed to reach the 289 threshold for an absolute majority. 

Opinion polls also see the far right likely to score its biggest parliamentary success in decades, while a broad left-green alliance could become the largest opposition group and the conservatives find themselves as kingmakers.

If Macron's camp does fall short of an outright majority, that would open a period of uncertainty that could be solved by a degree of power-sharing among parties unheard of in France over the past decades - or result in protracted paralysis and repeat parliamentary elections down the line. 

Macron, who wants to push up the retirement age, pursue his pro-business agenda and further European Union integration, won a second term in April.

After electing a president, French voters have traditionally used legislative polls that follow a few weeks later to hand him a comfortable parliamentary majority - with Francois Mitterand in 1988 a rare exception, according to Reuters.

Macron and his allies could still achieve that. 

But the rejuvenated left is putting up a tough challenge, as rampant inflation that drives up the cost of living sends shockwaves through the French political landscape. 

If Macron and his allies miss an absolute majority by just a few seats, they may be tempted to poach MPs from the centre-right or conservatives, officials in those parties said.

If they miss it by a wider margin, they could either seek an alliance with the conservatives or run a minority government that will have to negotiate laws on a case-by-case basis with other parties.

Even if Macron's camp does win the 289 seats or more it needs to avoid sharing power, it is likely to be thanks to his former prime minister Edouard Philippe, who will be demanding more of a say on what the government does.

So after five years of undisputed control, Macron, known for his top-down approach to power, is looking at a new mandate where he will need to strike more compromises.

No poll has shown the leftwing Nupes led by hard left Jean-Luc Melenchon winning a ruling majority - a scenario that could plunge the euro zone's second largest economy into an unstable period of cohabitation between a president and prime minister from different political groups, Reuters reported.