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Buoyed by a visit from a neighbor and ally, Ukrainians were digging in to defend the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, which came under heavy bombardment from Russian forces trying to take the industrial area known as the Donbas, Associated Press reported.

Sievierodonetsk is the main city under Ukrainian control in Luhansk province, which together with Donetsk province make up the Donbas. 

Luhansk’s governor, Serhii Haidai, said Sunday that the Russians were “simply intentionally trying to destroy the city ... engaging in a scorched-earth approach.”

He said the Russians had occupied several towns and cities in Luhansk after indiscriminate, 24-hour shelling. Haidai said Moscow was concentrating forces and weaponry there, bringing in forces from Kharkiv to the northwest, Mariupol to the south, and from inside Russia.

The sole working hospital in Sievierodonetck has only three doctors and supplies for 10 days, he said.

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces had mounted an unsuccessful attack on Oleksandrivka, a village outside of the city.

While Russian and Ukrainian forces battled along a 551-kilometer (342-mile) wedge of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, Poland’s president traveled to Kyiv on Sunday to support Ukraine’s European Union aspirations, becoming the first foreign leader to address the Ukrainian parliament since the start of the war, according to Associated Press.

President Andrzej Duda received a standing ovation when he thanked the lawmakers for letting him speak where “the heart of a free, independent and democratic Ukraine beats.” Duda said Ukraine need not submit to conditions given by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Unfortunately, in Europe there have also been disturbing voices in recent times demanding that Ukraine yield to Putin’s demands,” he said. “I want to say clearly: Only Ukraine has the right to decide about its future. Only Ukraine has the right to decide for itself.”

It was Duda’s second visit to Kyiv since April. Poland has become an important ally of Ukraine, welcoming millions of Ukrainian refugees and becoming a gateway for Western humanitarian aid and weapons. It is also a transit point for some foreign fighters who have volunteered to fight the Russian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the visit “a historic opportunity not to lose such strong relations, built through blood, through Russian aggression. All this not to lose our state, not to lose our people.”

Duda credited the US and President Joe Biden for unifying the West in supporting Ukraine and imposing sanctions against Moscow.

“Kyiv is the place from which one clearly sees that we need more America in Europe, both in the military and in this economic dimension,” said Duda, a right-wing populist leader who clearly preferred the former US president, Donald Trump, over Biden in the 2020 election.

Poland is ramping up efforts to win over EU members who are more hesitant about accepting Ukraine into the bloc. Zelenskyy has urged the 27-member EU to expedite his country’s request to join, and it is to be discussed at a Brussels summit in late June, Associated Press reported.

France’s European Affairs minister Clement Beaune on Sunday told Radio J it would be a “long time” before Ukraine gains EU membership, perhaps up to two decades. “We have to be honest,” he said. “If you say Ukraine is going to join the EU in six months, or a year or two, you’re lying.”

On the battlefield, grinding, town-by-town fighting continued as Russian troops try to expand the territory that Moscow-backed separatists have held since 2014 in the Donbas.

To bolster its defenses, Ukraine’s parliament voted Sunday to extend martial law and mobilize the armed forces for a third time, until Aug. 23.

Ukrainian officials have said little since the war began about the extent of their country’s casualties, but Zelenskyy said at a news conference Sunday that 50 to 100 Ukrainian fighters were being killed, apparently each day, in the east.

In a general staff morning report, Russia said it was also preparing to resume its offensive on Slovyansk, a city in Donetsk province that saw fierce fighting last month after Moscow’s troops backed away from Kyiv. 

The conflict was not confined to Ukraine’s east. Powerful explosions were heard early Monday, for example, in Korosten, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Kyiv, the town’s deputy mayor said. It was the third straight day of apparent attacks in the Zhytomyr District, Ukrainian news agencies reported, according to Associated Press.

The world is facing "formidable" challenges, including Covid, the war in Ukraine and monkeypox, the head of the World Health Organization has warned, BBC reported.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking in Geneva, where the UN health agency's experts were discussing the monkeypox outbreak in 15 nations outside Africa.

More than 80 cases have been confirmed in Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and Israel.

However, the risk to the wider public is said to be low.

Monkeypox - the virus that is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa - does not tend to spread easily between people and the illness is usually mild. 

Most people who catch the virus recover within a few weeks, according to the UK's National Health Service.

The outbreak has taken scientists by surprise, and UK health officials have issued new advice, saying high-risk contacts of cases should self-isolate for three weeks. Belgium became the first country to announce a three-week quarantine for infected persons on Friday.

More confirmed cases are expected to be announced in the UK on Monday, the Guardian newspaper reports, according to BBC.

Speaking at Sunday's opening of his agency's World Health Assembly, Dr Tedros said: "Of course the [Covid] pandemic is not the only crisis in our world. 

"As we speak our colleagues around the world are responding to outbreaks of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, monkeypox and hepatitis of unknown cause and complex humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine and Yemen. 

"We face a formidable convergence of disease, drought, famine and war, fuelled by climate change, inequity and geopolitical rivalry," the WHO head added. 

The WHO earlier said that a number of other suspected monkeypox cases were being investigated - without naming the countries involved - and warned that more infections were likely to be confirmed.

After the outbreak was first identified in the UK, the virus began to be detected across Europe - with public health agencies in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden all confirming cases.

Further cases were confirmed in Austria and Switzerland on Sunday.

The UK Health Security Agency has identified 20 cases so far and its chief medical adviser Dr Susan Hopkins told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "We are detecting more cases on a daily basis."

She said the virus was now spreading in the community - with cases detected which have had no contact with anyone who has visited West Africa, where the disease is endemic, BBC reported.

But the risk to the general population remains "extremely low", with cases so far mostly found in some urban areas and among gay or bisexual men, Dr Hopkins said.

Although there is no specific vaccine for monkeypox, several countries have said they are stocking smallpox vaccines, which are about 85% effective in preventing infection because the two viruses are quite similar.

President Joe Biden on Monday promised “concrete benefits” for the people of the Indo-Pacific region from a new trade pact he was set to launch, designed to signal US dedication to the contested economic sphere and address the need for stability in commerce after disruptions caused by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Associated Press reported.

Meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden said the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework would also increase US cooperation with other nations in the region.

The White House said the framework will help the United States and Asian economies work more closely on issues including supply chains, digital trade, clean energy, worker protections and anticorruption efforts. The details still need to be negotiated among the member countries, making it difficult for the administration to say how this agreement would fulfill the promise of helping US workers and businesses while also meeting global needs.

Countries signing on to the framework were to be announced Monday during Biden’s visit to Tokyo for talks with Kishida. It’s the latest step by the Biden administration to try to preserve and broaden US influence in a region that until recently looked to be under the growing sway of China.

Kishida hosted a formal state welcome for Biden at Akasaka Palace, including a white-clad military honor guard and band in the front plaza. Reviewing the assembled troops, Biden placed his hand over his heart as he passed the American flag and bowed slightly as he passed the Japanese standard, according to Associated Press.

Kishida, in brief remarks, said he was “absolutely delighted” to welcome Biden to Tokyo on the first Asia trip of his presidency. Along with Biden, he drove a tough line against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, saying it “undermines the foundation of global order.” 

Biden, who is in the midst of a five-day visit to South Korea and Japan, called the US.-Japanese alliance a “cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific” and thanked Japan for its “strong leadership” in standing up to Russia.

The White House announced plans to build the economic framework in October as a replacement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the US dropped out of in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump. 

The new pact comes at a moment when the administration believes it has the edge in its competition with Beijing. Bloomberg Economics published a report last week projecting US GDP growth at about 2.8% in 2022 compared to 2% for China, which has been trying to contain the coronavirus through strict lockdowns while also dealing with a property bust. The slowdown has undermined assumptions that China would automatically supplant the US as the world’s leading economy.

“The fact that the United States will grow faster than China this year, for the first time since 1976, is a quite striking example of how countries in this region should be looking at the question of trends and trajectories,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Associated Press reported.

Critics say the framework has gaping shortcomings. It doesn’t offer incentives to prospective partners by lowering tariffs or provide signatories with greater access to US markets. Those limitations may not make the US framework an attractive alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which still moved forward after the US bailed out. China, the largest trading partner for many in the region, is also seeking to join TPP.

“I think a lot of partners are going to look at that list and say: ‘That’s a good list of issues. I’m happy to be involved,’” said Matthew Goodman, a former director for international economics on the National Security Council during President Barack Obama’s administration. But he said they also may ask, “Are we going to get any tangible benefits out of participating in this framework?”

It is possible for countries to be part of both trade deals.

Biden’s first stop Monday was a private meeting with Emperor Naruhito of Japan at Naruhito’s residence on the lush grounds of the Imperial Palace before the talks with Kishida, Associated Press reported.

Independent mayoral candidate Balen Shah is leading by 18, 430 votes in Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

He secured 45, 613 votes as of 10:30 am today.

His closest contender Nepali Congress candidate Srijana Singh is trailing with 27, 183 votes.

Similarly, Keshav Sthapit of CPN-UML received 26, 309 votes.

In the deputy mayoral race UML's Sunita Dangol is leading by a huge margin. Rameshwar Shrestha of CPN (Unified Socialist) is lagging far behind.

Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the state-owned monopoly, hiked the prices of petroleum products yet again on Sunday.

The NOC has decided to increase Rs 10 per litre each in petrol, diesel and kerosene.

As per the new revised rate, the petrol will now cost Rs 180 per litre and diesel and kerosene will cost Rs 163 per litre.

The NOC has increased the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by Rs 200 per cylinder.

 Now, the cooking gas will cost Rs 1, 800 per cylinder.

The decision will come into effect from today midnight.

The NOC had increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs 10 per litre a week ago.

A person died and another was injured when a fire broke out due to electric short circuit while removing a hoarding board of the Shikhar Insurance Company in Chitwan.

The deceased has been identified as Shakuntala paudel (36) of Kataharchok, Bharatpur-10. She was a staffer at the branch office of Shikhar Insurance Company.

According to Narahari Adhikari, Information Officer at the District Police Office, Chitwan, the incident occurred while removing the flex board outside the office at around 1 pm.

Tarun Thapa (22) of Bharatpur-7 was injured in the incident. He is receiving treatment at the Chitwan Medical College.

The fire was taken under control with the help of locals, Nepal Police and Nepal Army personnel backed by a fire engine.

Police said that they are looking into the incident,

A man and his son were murdered in Arna Rural Municipality of Siraha district.

Chandeshwor Pal (60) and his 19-year-old son Santa Kumar were murdered by using a sharp weapon while asleep at Mahanaur in Arna Rural Municipality-1 of the district.

Santa Kumar was getting married on May 25.

Locals said that the duo were murdered after they had gone to bed after finishing wedding singing and dancing programs at midnight in the village.

The villagers said that the songs were playing till midnight and they were found dead at around 3 am.

DSP Subash Budhathoki of the District Police Office, Siraha said that police reached the incident site soon after they got the information.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

CPN-UML candidates have won both mayor and deputy mayor posts in Dakneshwori Municipality, Saptari.

Ram Lakhan Mahala has been elected as the mayor of the municipality by securing 5, 854 votes. His closest rival Narayan Yadav of Nepali Congress garnered 5, 396 votes.

Similarly, Mira Kumari Yadav has been elected as the deputy mayor. 

She received 6, 197 votes and her close competitor Indu Devi Yadav of Janata Samajbadi Party got 5, 209 votes.