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A US Navy aircraft's flight through the Taiwan Strait last weekdemonstrated a US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, the US military said on Tuesday (June 28), after China complained it endangered peace and stability, Reuters reported.

China said it had sent aircraft to monitor and warn the P-8A anti-submarine aircraft as it flew over the sensitive waterway on Friday.

"US Navy vessels and aircraft routinely interact with foreign warships and aircraft while operating throughout the region," the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.

"All interactions with foreign military forces during the transit were consistent with international norms and did not impact the operation," it said.

"The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows including within the Taiwan Strait. The aircraft's transit of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific."

The fly-through came after Taiwan scrambled fighters twice last week to warn away two large-scale incursions by China's air force into Taiwan's air defence zone, according to Reuters.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified by force, if necessary.

This month, China said it "has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait" and called it "a false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait 'international waters'".

Both the United States and Taiwan have rebuffed that, saying they do consider it international waters.

In recent years, US warships, and on occasion those from allied nations such as Britain and Canada, have sailed through the strait, drawing China's anger, Reuters reported.

Nepal Communist Party Ekta Rastriya Abhiyan Coordinator Bamdev Gautam has decided to form a new political party. 

Gautam is organizing a press conference in the Reporters’ Club at 3 pm today for the same. 

Ekta Rastriya Abhiyan Publicity Department Chief Nimkanta Pandey said that a new party will be announced today.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has called a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister’s Secretariat said that the meeting will be held in Baluwatar at 3 pm today.

It has been learnt that the meeting will discuss contemporary issues and daily administrative works.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Deuba had reconstituted the Cabinet by four ministers and one state minister of the CPN (Unified Socialist).

This will be the first Cabinet meeting of the new ministers representing CPN (Unified Socialist) in the government.

Similarly, the Janata Samajbadi Party has also decided to recall all the ministers from the government.

A meeting of the Upendra Yadav faction held on Monday evening made the decision to his effect.

The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) has decided to recall all the ministers representing the party in the government.

A meeting of the Upendra Yadav faction held on Monday evening made the decision to this effect.

The executive members of the Upendra Yadav faction were only present in the meeting.

The executive members of the Baburam Bhattarai faction were not called in the meeting.

The meeting has decided to give rights to Yadav to select the new ministers.

Claiming that they have a majority in the executive committee, the Yadav faction leaders have also decided to give rights to Yadav to take action against Bhattarai and Mahendra Yadav among other leaders.

The Janata Samajbadi Party has been divided into two factions lately.

Two persons died in separate lightning incidents in Punarbas Municipality, Kanchanpur on Tuesday.

Devendra Shrestha (40) of Town Bazaar, Punarbas Municipality-6 died on the spot after being struck by lightning, Inspector Ramesh Raj Malla of the Area Police Office, Tribhuvanbasti said.

Similarly, Shardha Thapa (25) of Punarbas Municipality-8 also died on the spot in a lightning strike this morning.

The incident occurred while she was planting paddy in a field, Inspector Malla said.

Sri Lanka will shut schools and only allow fuel supplies to services deemed essential like health, trains and buses for two weeks starting Tuesday, a minister said, in a desperate attempt to deal with a severe shortage, CNN reported.

The country is suffering its worst economic crisis, with foreign exchange reserves at a record low and the island of 22 million struggling to pay for essential imports of food, medicine and, most critically, fuel.

Industries like garments, a big dollar earner in the Indian Ocean nation, are left with fuel for only about a week to 10 days. Current stocks of the country will exhaust in just under a week based on regular demand, Reuters calculations show.

medical services and vehicles that transport food starting Tuesday until July 10, Bandula Gunewardena, the spokesman for the government cabinet, told reporters.

Schools in urban areas will be shut and everyone is urged to work from home, he said. Inter-provincial bus service will be limited.

"Sri Lanka has never faced such a severe economic crisis in its history," Gunewardena said.

Autorickshaw driver W. D. Shelton, 67, said he had waited in line for four days for fuel, according to CNN.

"I haven't slept or eaten properly during this time," he said. "We can't earn, we can't feed our families."

Chelsea have made contact with Manchester City about a move for England forward Raheem Sterling, BBC reported.

Sterling, who joined from Liverpool in a £49m deal in 2015 and has scored 131 goals in 339 games, is a major transfer target for new Blues owner Todd Boehly.

It is understood Chelsea are yet to lodge a formal bid for the 27-year-old, but one is expected shortly.

Sterling has a year left on his contract and is understood to be reviewing his options.

Sterling, who has 77 England caps, has never made any secret of his desire to play as much as possible and be a central figure in a team that challenges for major honours, according to BBC.

He could be the Blues first major signing since they were taken over by a consortium led by Boehly in May.

Chelsea are looking to boost their attacking ranks after allowing Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku to rejoin Inter Milan on a season-long loan.

Leaders of the world's seven richest nations have promised to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes" on the second day of a summit in Germany, BBC reported.

In a statement, the G7 group also said that Russia must stop blocking food from leaving Ukraine's ports. 

Addressing the summit via video-link, Ukraine's president appealed for more heavy weapons from Western allies.

G7 leaders are under pressure to be united in their approach against increasing Russian aggression.

"We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," they said in a strongly worded statement on Monday.

"We remain appalled by and continue to condemn the brutal, unprovoked, unjustifiable and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine by Russia and aided by Belarus."

The G7 leaders - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US - have been joined in Bavaria, Germany by two representatives from the European Union, according to BBC.

The high-level talks were held as Russian forces escalated their attacks on Ukraine, where officials said a busy shopping centre was struck by a missile in the central city of Kremenchuk, killing at least ten people according to the local governor.

Dialling into the luxury hotel spa where the summit is being held, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for more heavy weapons for Ukraine and said he hoped the war would be over by the end of the year "before winter sets in". There are concerns that harsh winter conditions will make battle conditions tougher for Ukraine's troops.

He also urged Western allies to keep the pressure on Russia with more sanctions.

In their joint statement, the G7 leaders said they remain committed to "sustaining and intensifying" sanctions against President Vladimir Putin's government and enablers in neighbouring Belarus. There will be sanctions on gold and oil exports and also "targeted sanctions on those responsible for war crimes", the joint statement said.

The G7 also demanded that the Kremlin allow food to leave Ukraine's ports - and blamed Moscow for rising threats to global food insecurity as a result of the conflict, BBC reported.

Much of Ukraine's highly valued grain exports are in danger of rotting in local warehouses as Russian forces continue blocking Ukraine's ports on the Black Sea.

"We urgently call on Russia to cease, without condition, its attacks on agricultural and transport infrastructure and enable free passage of agricultural shipping from Ukrainian ports," the G7 statement says.

A BBC investigation has also found evidence that Russian forces in occupied areas of Ukraine have been systematically stealing grain and other produce from local farmers.