Hamas says no point in further Gaza truce talks
Hamas has stopped its participation in cease-fire talks, blaming Israel's continued military offensive and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Basem Naim, a top Hamas official, stated that there is no purpose in discussions while hunger and destruction persist, according to BBC.
The decision comes after Israel's approval of increased operations in Gaza, which include mass displacement. Almost all people have already been displaced from their houses.
Gaza remains under total blockade, with critical shortages of food, water, and medicine, BBC reported.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described Israel's conduct as a violation of humanitarian law.
Germany's Merz falls short of majority in vote for chancellor
Friedrich Merz, the head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), fell six votes short of the 316 votes needed to win a parliamentary majority and become Germany's next chancellor on Tuesday, BBC reported.
Merz earned only 310 votes in a secret ballot, even though the Social Democrats held 328 seats and he was part of the CDU-Christian Social Union (CSU) combination. This is the first time a candidate for chancellor has lost on the first vote since World War II. Germany's DAX stock index dropped 1.8% as a result.
Olaf Scholz, the departing chancellor, is still serving in a caretaker capacity while the parties negotiate the next course of action. In order to guarantee leadership stability, CDU officials have demanded a speedy second vote, as stated by BBC.
Speaker Ghimire directs government to address concerns raised by lawmakers in Parliament
Speaker Devraj Ghimire has issued a ruling to the government to respond to various concerns raised in the House of Representatives (HoR) over time.
During today's HoR meeting, lawmakers from the Janamat Party stood in protest over the recent detention of Nagarik Unmukti Party patron Resham Chaudhary by police for several hours without explanation.
Janamat Party lawmaker Abdul Khan announced that the party would not allow the House to function until the government provides a convincing explanation regarding the incident.
In response, Speaker Ghimire urged lawmakers to allow proceedings to continue, stating that Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak is scheduled to address the issue during a House session on May 8. The matter has now been officially listed on the parliamentary agenda.
Meanwhile, the budget session has begun with party-wise discussions on the government’s new policies and programs for the fiscal year 2082/83 BS.
Nagarik Unmukti Party demands impartial investigation into arrest of Resham Chaudhary
Lawmakers have drawn the attention of the government on contemporary issues.
During an emergency hour in today's meeting of the House of Representatives, Nagarik Unmukti Party Chairperson Ranjita Shrestha demanded the government to carry out an impartial investigation into the arrest of party patron Resham Chaudhary on April 30.
Similarly, Nepali Congress lawmaker Kantika Sejuwal drew the government's attention to rescue Dipraj Bhandari (26) of Sumli Village in Chhayanath Municipality-14 of Mugu district, who was stranded in the United Arab Emirates for the past three months.
He has been there for the past one year in the course of overseas employment.
Likewise, CPN-UML lawmaker Thakur Prasad Gaire asked the government to complete the construction of the Federal Parliament building which is under construction in Singha Durbar premises.
CPN (Maoist Center) lawmaker Purna Bahadur Gharti Magar drew the government's attention towards the fact that the budget allocated for district headquarters is not spent while Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Manish Jha demanded the government to increase women's participation in the Cabinet.
