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Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has returned home after completing his official visit to China. 

A 23-member delegation led by PM Oli had left for China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit on August 30. 

The Prime Minister was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Urban Development, Prakash Man Singh, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, and Chief Secretary Eka Narayan Aryal at VVIP Lounge in Tribhuvan International Airport this night. 

High ranking government officials, chiefs of security agencies and representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal were also present on the occasion.

A contingent of the Nepali Army accorded a guard of honour to the Prime Minister.

Before returning home, Prime Minister Oli participated in the 80th anniversary celebration and special military parade organized in Beijing today. 

During the China visit, Prime Minister Oli addressed the SCO summit on September 1. 

Nepal has been a SCO dialogue partner since 2016.

Similarly, PM Oli had separate bilateral meetings with world dignitaries including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

PM Oli was accompanied by his spouse Radhika Shakya, Minister for Education, Science and Technology Raghuji Pant, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Badri Pandey, Vice President of the Nepali Congress and lawmaker, Purna Bahadur Khadka, PM's Advisor on Economic and Development Affairs, Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada, UML lawmake Chhabi Lal Bishwokarma and high level government officials.

Lawmakers have demanded an accurate update about Nepal's alleged agreement on China's proposed 'Global Security Initiative' (GSI) and 'Global Civilization Initiative' (GCI). 

Following Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to China and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, lawmakers have called for information to the House regarding the claims made by China through a statement issued by its foreign ministry. 

During the special hour of the meeting of the House of Representatives, both ruling and opposition lawmakers insisted that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Ministry should respond before the House on this matter.

The MPs were of the view that it was positive to clearly raise the issue that 'the Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani areas are part of Nepal's sovereign territory'. They, however, urged the Prime Minister to clarify before the House about the stance of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which stated that Nepal had agreed to security strategies and military cooperation.

Nepali Congress MP Dilendra Prasad Badu remarked that it was positive to raise the issue of Lipulekh in the meeting between Prime Minister Oli and Chinese President Xi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. 

He noted that Prime Minister Oli's statement to the Chinese President regarding the agreement between India and China to create a trade route in that area, which Nepal does not accept, was positive.

"After Prime Minister Oli’s meeting with the Chinese President, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement claiming that Nepal has supported the security strategy, GSI. Given that Nepal has not been associated with any security or military strategies and is following a non-aligned foreign policy, this cannot be accepted," the lawmaker said.

"If Nepal engages in any security or military strategy, there is a risk of falling into a security trap. Acceptance of GSI is objectionable for Nepal. Therefore, the Prime Minister must respond to this issue in Parliament." 

He also demanded information about whether any discussions took place regarding Nepalis who were illegally recruited into the Russian military during Prime Minister Oli's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

CPN-UMLMP Juli Kumari Mahato (Mahaseth) said that Nepal has expressed its opposition to the agreement between China and India to open a trade route from the integral territory of Nepal, Lipulekh, adding that this issue was raised clearly during Prime Minister Oli's visit to China. 

She believes that Prime Minister Oli's visit was successful both politically and diplomatically.

Meanwhile, CPN (Maoist Center) MP Lekhnath Dahal mentioned that Nepal did not manage to demonstrate its diplomatic competencies at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

He argued that the entire country must stand united in foreign affairs and argued that no individual should make rash decisions. 

Dahal emphasized that the Parliament should protest against the agreement made by India and China to use the Lipulekh area for trade without Nepal's consent, and that the government should express its disagreement through a decision made by the Council of Ministers.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today left Beijing for home after concluding his official visit to the People's Republic of China beginning on August 30. 

He had arrived here to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Plus Summit held in Tianjin, at the friendly invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

Chinese government senior officials, China's ambassador to Nepal and Nepal's ambassador to China were at the Beijing International Airport to see off Prime Minister Oli and his delegation. 

The Prime Minister also joined a special military parade here today organized to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance.

On that occasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the heads of state/government present at the ceremony.

After the parade, PM Oli attended the luncheon organized by Chinese President Xi.

During the China visit, the Prime Minister held a separate meeting with world leaders including the Chinese President, his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and Russia's President Vladimir Putin. 

The Prime Minister addressed the SCO Summit on September 1. 

Nepal has remained as a dialogue partner of the SCO since 2016.  

The Prime Minister's entourage includes his spouse Radhika Shakya, Minister for Science and Technology Raghuji Panta, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey, Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Purna Bahadur Khadka, Prime Minister's economic and development advisor Dr Yubaraj Khadka and CPN (UML) lawmaker Chhabilal Bishwakarma among others. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 15. 64 points to close at 2, 726. 33 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 2. 74  points to close at 470. 94 points.

A total of 11,345,994-unit shares of 326 companies were traded for Rs 4. 72 billion.

Meanwhile, Him Star Urja Company Limited (HIMSTAR) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Liberty Energy Company Limited (LEC) was the top loser as its price fell by 6. 99 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 1. 54 trillion.

The House of Representatives (HoR) today received the report on the Federal Civil Service Bill, along with a message from the National Assembly (NA) regarding its amendments. 

The Bill is crucial for the implementation of administrative federalism in the country.

Eakram Giri, Spokesperson for the Federal Parliament Secretariat, confirmed that the lower house received the Bill along with the National Assembly's message and proposed amendments earlier today.

The Bill, which had originated in the HoR, was forwarded to the National Assembly two months ago, in line with constitutional procedures. 

According to the Constitution, the NA shall return the Bill to the HoR within two months.

Now, the HoR will deliberate only on the provisions amended by the NA. 

A proposal will be tabled in the lower house to consider the Bill. 

The HoR may then choose to accept the amendments in full, accept them partially, or reject them altogether.

In the previous practice, the suggestions received from the National Assembly were generally accepted and taken ahead.

Unless the Speaker directs otherwise, the meeting of the House of Representatives will discuss and present for decision the amendments after 24 hours of being tabled.

If deemed necessary by the House, there can be a discussion on the amendments received from the National Assembly. 

The bill that was finalized after a lengthy discussion in the legislation management committee was passed by the National Assembly yesterday.

The issue regarding the 'cooling period' of having to wait two years for appointment to constitutional bodies after employee retirement has been somewhat complicated for a long time.

The National Assembly has approved the provision regarding the cooling period, which had been thoroughly discussed in the State Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, but had been missing.

According to the agreement reached in the committee, the bill passed by the Upper House provision has been made for a mandatory retirement system for employees due to age limit, according to which the employee will go into retirement at age 58 for the year the bill is passed and certified, at age 59 the next year and at age 60 from the third year. 

The bill includes provisions for transfer of employees between provinces and local levels, as well as for their rank and levels.

Nepal are set to begin their journey in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers tonight, facing host nation Tajikistan in their opening match. 

The game will take place at Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe and is scheduled to kick off at 8:15pm Nepal time.

Nepal are in Group 'K' of the qualifiers, alongside Tajikistan, the Philippines, and Syria. 

The tournament is being held in a single round-robin format. 

Nepal will play their second match against Syria on September 6, followed by a clash with the Philippines on September 9. 

Syria and the Philippines are also set to face each other today in their group opener.

The top team from each of the 11 groups will earn a spot in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, to be held in Saudi Arabia next year. In addition, the four best first-runner up teams across all groups will also qualify for the tournament. 

Nepal’s squad includes Krishal Moktan, Amit Tamata, and Bishal KC as goalkeepers; Bibek Gurung, Bishal Nepali, Lahan Subba, Nigma Lama, Ram Thapa, Shankar Tharu, and Semanta Thapa as defenders; Abhishek Syangtang, Ayush Ghalan, Aaron Thapa, Niraj Karki, Dipesh Gurung, Kritish Ratna Chhunju, Pujan Thapa, Sanjeev Lama, Santosh Khatri, Sujan Magar, and Sumit Shrestha as midfielders; and Rohan Khadgi and Nirajan Dhami as forwards.

The Language Commission has emphasized the need to use Nepali language in the embossed number plate installed in the vehicles.

The Commission asserted that the Article 7 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal stipulates that the Nepali language, written in the Devanagari script, as the official language of Nepal for government functions.

The constitutional body mandated to protect, promote and develop the nation's diverse languages also expressed its dissent over the latest provision of the vehicle number plates being in English only.

Furthermore, the Commission cited the ruling of the Supreme Court that the embossed number plates must be in the Nepali language rather than in any languages and script unrecognized by the constitution thereby pressing for use of Nepali language in the vehicle number plate.

In a decision regarding the use of Nepali script delivered on June 23, 2024, the Supreme Court delivered the ruling that the Article 7(3) stipulates that other matters relating to language, beyond the official Nepali language and state languages, will be decided by the Government of Nepal upon the recommendation of the Language Commission.

Hence, it directed all three tiers of the government to act in line with the constitutional provision.

Commission's Chairperson Dr Gopal Thakur shared that the Commission, acknowledging its constitutional responsibility, has decided to draw the attention of the government once again towards the need of using Devanagari script (Nepali language) in the embossed number plate.

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz has yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows and cruised into the U.S. Open semi-finals on Tuesday, demolishing Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium, Reuters reported.

Alcaraz had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he fired off 28 winners and never faced a break point, putting on yet another almost pristine performance. He will next play either 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic or American fourth seed Taylor Fritz.

Lehecka is one of the few players to beat Alcaraz this season, winning in the Doha quarter-finals, but was outclassed this time around and could only watch helplessly as the Spaniard's forehand winner zipped by on match point, according to Reuters.