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Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has underlined the need of a comprehensive strategy to address complex challenges of climate change, health and social justice.

In his address to an inaugural session of the South and Southeast Asia Regional Conference on Connecting the Dots between Climate Change, Health, and Equity here today, the Prime Minister highlighted the need for a unified and comprehensive approach to addressing these pressing issues.

"While acknowledging the significance of this monumental event, the Government of Nepal sees it as a crucial step forward in our journey towards a future characterized by justice, sustainability, and fairness," he said.

He further added that the challenges posed by climate change are immense, touching every corner of our planet, impacting our societies, health systems, and the natural environment.

"The trumpet call from climate scientists is clear and urgent: we must significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid surpassing the critical threshold of 1.5° Celsius. This is especially vital for nations like ours, with our beautiful yet vulnerable mountainous landscapes and as a Least Developed Country (LDC), where the consequences of climate change are not just abstract statistics but harsh realities,'' he said.

"The scientists have explicitly said that the emission of greenhouse gasses should be significantly reduced to maintain the temperature limit of 1.5 degree Celsius. Not only the harsh reality of climate change, but also its consequences are significant especially for least developed and mountainous countries like ours," he said.

Noting that landslides, floods, wildfires, glacial lake outburst and drought are becoming more frequent and deadlier, PM Dahal said, "Such disasters have impacted the most vulnerable populations. The poor, women, children and indigenous nationalities have been impacted of all."

The Prime Minister, referring to the latest reports, said that one-third of the global natural resources, including in the Himalayan range, have been lost and these loss and damage have not only put at risk the biodiversity but also the livelihood of billions of people living in the coastal areas.

Recalling that he has voiced in the international forums from the COP-28 held in Dubai to the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations on various challenges the least developed nations are facing due to climate change, he called on the developed economies to support the least developed and vulnerable countries by means of the urgently needed resources and technologies.

Russian citizens residing or visiting Nepal will have the opportunity to vote in the upcoming Russian presidential election, scheduled from March 15 to 17. The Russian Embassy in Nepal has confirmed that polling stations will be set up in Pokhara and Kathmandu to facilitate voting.

Alexander Ivasev, the representative of the Russian Embassy overseeing the polling stations in Pokhara and Kathmandu, assured that the voting process would be accessible for Russian citizens in Nepal.

Polling will take place in Pokhara on March 15 and in Kathmandu on March 17, accommodating both residents and tourists. This arrangement aims to ensure that Russian nationals, including approximately 200 permanent residents in Nepal, can participate in the election. The polling station in Pokhara will be located at Hotel Barahi, while the one in Kathmandu will be at the embassy.

Voting hours in Pokhara will be from 8 am to 12 pm, and voters must present their passports to cast their votes.

The election features four candidates, including the incumbent president, Vladimir Putin, who is running as an independent candidate for a fifth term. Other candidates include Vladislav Davankot of the New People’s Party, Leonid Slutsky of the Nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, and Nikolai Kharitolov of the Communist Party.

President Ram Chandra Paudel has relieved the province chiefs of three provinces of their positions.

The President relieved Hari Shankar Mishra, Chief of Madhes Province, Prithviman Gurung, Chief of Gandaki Province, and Devraj Joshi, Chief of Sudurpaschim Province, of their posts in accordance with Article 165 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal and on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers on March 11, the Office of the President stated in a statement issued today.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday secured a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.

Dahal received 157 votes while 110 lawmakers voted against the motion.

A total of 268 lawmakers were present in today's meeting. A lawmaker stayed neutral.

Prime Minister Dahal sought the vote of confidence in accordance with Article 100 (920) of the Constitution.

Prime Minister Dahal, who is also the chairman of CPN (Maoist Center), received a vote of confidence from the CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Center), Rastriya Swatantra Party, Janata Samajbadi Party, CPN (Unified Socialist), Nagarik Unmukti Party and three independent lawmakers.

The Nepali Congress, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party and Janamat Party voted against Dahal.

He received the vote of confidence for the third time today.

Dahal was elected the Prime Minister on 25 December 2022. He had taken the vote of confidence on January 10, 2023.

Out of the 270 lawmakers present in the Parliament, 268 gave a vote of confidence to PM Dahal. At the moment, all the parties, including Nepali Congress had given him a vote of confidence.

During the presidential election, the ruling coalition changed again.

CPN-UML, Rastriya Swatantra Party and Rastriya Prajatantra Party withdrew their support to the government. Prime Minister Dahal had again taken the vote of confidence on March 20, 2023, after the change of the ruling coalition.

He had secured 172 votes at the HoR.

In the HoR, UML has 78 lawmakers, Maoist Center 32, Rastriya Swatantra Party 21, Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal 12 and Unified Socialist 10.

The prime minister required at least 138 votes to win the trust motion.