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Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota directed the government to provide fertilizers to the farmers at the earliest.

During the meeting of the House of Representatives, Speaker Sapkota directed the concerned ministry and the Nepal government to provide fertilizers to the farmers as soon as possible.

Earlier, speaking at the zero hour of the Parliament, lawmakers drew the attention of the Speaker saying that the farmers have been facing acute shortage of fertilizers during the paddy plantation season.

Lawmaker Laxmi Pariyar said that it was sad that the farmers have been facing shortage of fertilizers though the government had brought many good farmer-centric programs in its policies and programs.

Similarly, lawmaker Bina Devi Budhathoki accused the government of not taking any initiatives to iron out the problem.

Likewise, other lawmakers drew the attention of the government to find a long-term solution to the problem of fertilizer.

The main opposition CPN-UML has demanded that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba immediately inform the House of Representatives about his upcoming visit to the United States.

Saying that various doubts have been raised about the Prime Minister’s visit to the United States, UML leader Pradeep Gyawali, while speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives on Sunday, demanded that the House be informed about the visit.

“Is this visit taking place in the capacity of Prime Minister or in the capacity of Defence Minister? What is its stature if he is visiting in the capacity of Defence Minister?” he questioned, adding, “It should be informed in the Parliament at the earliest.”

He expressed his dissatisfaction saying that the Defence Ministry is making preparations for the Prime Minister’s visit instead of the Foreign Ministry.

Leader Gyawali said that the government had not even discussed such important issues with the main opposition parties.

Meanwhile, he said that Nepal should not be made a hotbed of geopolitical conflict under any pretexts.

China has warned the US that any attempt to make Taiwan independent from China will trigger military action by Beijing's forces, BBC reported.

Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe met his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of an Asian security summit in Singapore.

Splitting Taiwan from China would leave the Chinese military with no choice but to "fight at any cost", Mr Wei said.

Mr Austin later called Chinese military activity "provocative, destabilising".

He said there were record numbers of Chinese aircraft flying near the island on a near-daily basis, which "undermine peace and stability in the region".

China views self-ruled Taiwan as an integral part of China's territory, a stance that prompted Mr Wei to condemn US arms sales to Taiwan, according to BBC.

A spokesman quoted him as saying: "If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will have no choice but fight at any cost and crush any attempt of 'Taiwan independence' and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Mr Austin said the US was committed to maintaining the status quo - recognising Beijing as the sole government of China and opposing Taiwanese independence.

He insisted there must be no attempt to resolve tensions through force.

It was the first meeting of the US and Chinese defence chiefs and lasted nearly an hour, at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.

Mr Wei said the talks "went smoothly", and both sides described them as cordial.

Mr Austin spoke of the importance of maintaining fully open lines of communications with China's military, to avoid any misunderstanding, BBC reported.

In late May Taiwan said it had deployed fighter jets to warn off 30 warplanes sent by China into its air defence zone. The incident marked the biggest Chinese incursion since January.

The incident involved 22 Taiwanese fighters, as well as electronic warfare, early warning and anti-submarine aircraft, Taiwan's defence ministry said, according to BBC.

Ukrainian and British officials warned Saturday that Russian forces are relying on weapons able to cause mass casualties as they try to make headway in capturing eastern Ukraine and fierce, prolonged fighting depletes resources on both sides, Associated Press reported.

Russian bombers have likely been launching heavy 1960s-era anti-ship missiles in Ukraine, the UK Defense Ministry said. The Kh-22 missiles were primarily designed to destroy aircraft carriers using a nuclear warhead. When used in ground attacks with conventional warheads, they “are highly inaccurate and therefore can cause severe collateral damage and casualties,” the ministry said.

Both sides have expended large amounts of weaponry in what has become a grinding war of attrition for the eastern region of coal mines and factories known as the Donbas, placing huge strains on their resources and stockpiles.

Russia is likely using the 5.5-tonne (6.1-ton) anti-ship missiles because it is running short of more precise modern missiles, the British ministry said. It gave no details of where exactly such missiles are thought to have been deployed, according to Associated Press.

As Russia also sought to consolidate its hold over territory seized so far in the 108-day war, the US defense secretary said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine “is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all.”

“It’s what happens when big powers decide that their imperial appetites matter more than the rights of their peaceful neighbors,” Lloyd Austin said during a visit to Asia. “And it’s a preview of a possible world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in.”