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A parliamentary special probe committee formed to investigate charges against former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma tabled its report at the Parliament on Friday.

Before tabling it at the Parliament, Committee Chairman Laxman Lal Karna handed over the report to Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota today itself.

The panel prepared the report by holding discussions with various sides.

The committee had recorded the statement of former minister Sharma, secretary of the Finance Ministry and officials involved in making the budget. The panel was given 10 days to prepare its report.

The Parliament had extended the deadline of the committee by seven days after it could not complete the work within the given timeframe. The extended deadline ended on Thursday.

An 11-member probe committee was formed to investigate Sharma after he resigned following allegations that he allowed two unauthorized persons in the Ministry to tweak tax rates on the eve of budget announcement.

Laxman Lal Karna, Khagraj Adhikari, Dev Prasad Gurung, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Man Bahadur Bishwokarma, Bhanubhakta Dhakal, Bimala BK, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Sarala Kumari Yadav, Sita Ram Mahato and Surendra Yadav were in the committee.

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs Donald Lu and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka held a meeting on Saturday.

During the meeting, the duo discussed financial assistance, food security and vaccination against Covid-19 among other issues, it has been learnt.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the also discussed mutual relations and cooperation between Nepal and the US.

Lu arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day visit to Nepal on Thursday.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Khadka said that the government has already informed the United States that Nepal will not move ahead with the State Partnership Program (SPP) of the US government.

During a meeting of the House of Representatives on Friday, Minister Khadka said that a letter has been sent to the United States through a diplomatic channel saying that Nepal would not be a part of the SPP.

“The government has already made a decision that Nepal will not be a part of the SPP. The Cabinet meeting held on June 20, 2022 had decided that Nepal will not move ahead with the SPP,” he said, adding, “The Ministry on July 25 had written to the United States through a diplomatic channel about the government’s decision to withdraw from SPP.”

The US and Chinese leaders have warned each other over Taiwan during a phone call that lasted more than two hours, BBC reported. 

President Joe Biden told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that the US strongly opposed any unilateral moves to change the island's status.

But he added that US policy on Taiwan had not changed. 

Beijing said Mr Xi had told Mr Biden to abide by the one-China principle, warning him that "whoever plays with fire will get burnt". 

Tensions over the issue have increased ahead of a rumoured plan for US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan.

The state department says Ms Pelosi has not announced any travel, but China has warned of "serious consequences" if she were to proceed with such a visit.

Last week, Mr Biden told reporters "the military thinks it's not a good idea", but his White House has called Chinese rhetoric against any such trip "clearly unhelpful and not necessary".

Ms Pelosi, who is next in line to the presidency after the vice-president, would be the highest-ranking US politician to travel to Taiwan since 1997.

During Thursday's phone call, Mr Biden and Mr Xi also discussed arranging a possible face-to-face meeting, a senior Biden administration official said, describing the bilateral as "direct" and "honest".

When Mr Biden was US vice-president he hosted Mr Xi during a visit to the US by the Chinese leader in 2015, but they have not met in person during Mr Biden's presidency, according to BBC.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that must become a part of the country - and has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this.

Under the one-China policy, Washington does not recognise Taipei diplomatically. But the US does sell weapons to the democratically self-governed island so that it can defend itself.

The White House said that apart from Taiwan, the two leaders discussed a range of other issues, including climate change and health security.

The Biden administration has been considering whether to lift Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports, arguing that such a move could ease soaring US inflation. But the US president did not discuss that issue with Mr Xi on Thursday, the senior US official said. 

Analysts believe that both Joe Biden and Xi Jinping want to avoid an open conflict, the BBC's State Department Correspondent Barbara Plett Usher reports. But neither has made any attempt to alter their competing narratives, which was illustrated again by their contrasting statements about Thursday's call. 

In a brief summary, the White House said it was part of efforts to "responsibly manage differences" and work together where "interests align". 

In a much longer one, Beijing said many of their interests did align. But it blamed the US for the deteriorating relationship, criticising the Biden administration's view of China as a "primary rival" and Washington's "most serious long-term challenge."