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Acting President of the Nepali Congress Purna Bahadur Khadka has called for a swift resolution to the disputes within the party, emphasizing the importance of adhering to past decisions and the precedents set by the Election Commission. 

Today, he visited the Commission accompanied by a majority of the office-bearers and members from the Central Committee elected from the party's 14th General Convention, where they submitted party documents and sought resolution of the ongoing issues. 

Khadka made it clear that any determination of Congress's official status that contradicts the Commission's previous decisions regarding party splits would be deemed invalid. 

In light of various news reports concerning Congress from multiple media sources, he presented a report to Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, indicating that 885 convention delegates had retracted their signatures in relation to a special convention. 

Congress leader Dr Shekhar Koirala expressed optimism that the party's official status would be resolved through democratic processes and noted that the entire central committee was present to support this request. 

He pointed out that no commissioner could attain official status by initiating the election programme at Tundikhel, expressing confidence that the resolution of Congress's disputes would also follow similar principles. 

After receiving the submitted documents, Acting Chief Commissioner Bhandari remarked that the commission would reach a decision in accordance with legal standards and procedures, and he encouraged active involvement in all election activities.

The offices for the Chief Election Officer and Election Officer across all 165 constituencies will be established today in preparation for the House of Representatives elections set for March 5.

Kul Bahadur GC, the Assistant spokesperson for the Election Commission, said that the Chief Election Officer’s office will be located in the district headquarters, while Election Officer Offices will be set up in constituencies beyond the headquarters.

In total, there will be 77 Chief Election Officer Offices situated in district headquarters, alongside Election Officer Offices in 88 constituencies outside these headquarters.

The Chief Election Officer office will be led by the Chief Judge of the District Court, with 77 Chief District Judges appointed as Chief Election Officers and 88 second-class judiciary service officers designated as Election Officers.

Hong Kong police have confirmed that 168 people died in the massive blaze that ripped through an apartment complex in Hong Kong last November - seven more than previously announced, BBC reported. 

The ages of the victims ranged from six months to 98 years old, police said in a statement on Thursday. Of the victims, fifty-eight of them were male and 110 were female. Many of them were elderly residents who had lived in the apartment complex for decades.

The fire at Wang Fuk Court was the deadliest that the city had seen in decades, according to BBC. 

Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China as he held talks in Beijing with president Xi Jinpingon Friday, the first visit there by a Canadian leader in eight years, The Guardian reported. 

Addressing Xi in the Great Hall of the People, Carney said that “together we can build on the best of what this relationship has been in the past to create a new one adapted to new global realities”.

Engagement and cooperation would be “the foundation of our new strategic partnership”, he said. “Agriculture, energy, finance, that’s where we can make the most immediate progress.”