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The political parties affiliated to the ruling coalition have decided to move ahead by forging electoral alliances in all local levels and district coordination committees of Chitwan.

A joint meeting of the coalition parties held on Monday decided to move ahead by forging electoral alliances in the local level elections scheduled for May 13.

"The parties have decided to move ahead by forging electoral alliance in all the seven local levels and district coordination committees," read a statement issued today.

Nepali Congress President Rajeshwor Khanal, CPN (Maoist Centre) Coordinator Ram Chandra Adhikari, CPN (Unified Socialist) In-Charge Krishna Prasad Khanal, Janata Samajbadi Party Chairman Prem Bhujel and Rastriya Janamorcha Party Chairman Dambar Puri in the district-level meeting.

Sri Lanka's cabinet ministers have resigned en masse after protests over the government's handling of the worst economic crisis in decades, BBC reported.

All 26 ministers submitted letters of resignation - but not Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa or his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Many angry protesters demanding the resignation of the Rajapaksa family say the move is meaningless.

On Sunday, many defied a curfew to take to the streets in several cities.

The country is grappling with what is said to be its worst economic crisis since independence from the UK in 1948.

It is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which is used to pay for fuel imports. With power cuts lasting half a day or more, and shortages of food, medicines and fuel, public anger has reached a new high.

Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters on Sunday that the cabinet's ministers had tendered their resignation letters to the prime minister, according to BBC.

The prime minister's own son, Namal Rajapaksa, was among those who resigned, tweeting that he hoped it would help the president and PM's "decision to establish stability for the people and the government".

However, many protesters who allege that the president and his family are to blame for the situation in the country are angry at the fact that he will remain in power. 

One Twitter user called it a "sick joke". 

Another called it a "play from the dictator's playbook".

"We want all of you gone - the Rajapaksas, the cabinet,their political henchman, the corrupt cronies, their media guys. All of them," another social media user added.

On Sunday, thousands of people across the country defied a curfew order and a special notification banning anyone from from being on any public road, in a park, on trains or on the seashore unless they have written permission from the authorities, BBC reported.

The curfew, along with a ban on social media sites including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, was meant to halt a planned day of protests,after a demonstration outside the president's house on Thursday night turned violent. 

The demonstrations mark a massive turnaround in popularity for Mr Rajapaksa who swept into power with a majority win in 2019, promising stability and a "strong hand" to rule the country, according to BBC.

Wrapping up his three-day official visit to India, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba returned home on Sunday.

Before returning home, Prime Minister Deuba along with his spouse Arzu Rana, and others visited Varanasi.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed him at the Lal Bahadur International Airport this morning.

During this visit to India, Prime Minister Deuba visited the headquarters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday. He held a meeting with BJP President JP Nadda there.

Later, he held a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. He attended a dinner hosted by the Nepali Embassy in India the same day.

During the second day of the visit, he held a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday. He along with his Indian counterpart Modi jointly inaugurated the Janakpur-Jayanagar rail service.

On the occasion, Nepal and India inked four-point agreements.

During a joint press conference, Prime Minister Deuba proposed Modi to resolve the border issues at the earliest.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayak Khadka has said that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to India has become successful.

During a press conference organized at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Sunday, the foreign minister claimed that PM Deuba’s visit was successful in taking Nepal’s relations with India to a new height.

 “This visit discussed issues of mutual interests. This is a big achievement,” Minister Khadka said. 

He made it clear that Prime Minister Deuba held a meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party President JP Nadda as the President of the Nepali Congress, not as the prime minister. 

During the meeting, the duo discussed cementing the relationship between Nepali Congress and the BJP.

Prime Minister Deuba was criticized for visiting the BJP headquarters, saying it was against diplomatic dignity.

Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was criticized for not keeping Nepali representatives behind Prime Minister Deuba during this meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. 

Responding to journalists' queries, why Nepal and India issued separate press statements even though there is a tradition to issue a joint statement when there is a bilateral agreement between the two countries, Minister Khadka said that separate press statements were issued as per the advice of both sides. 

Likewise, he said that the prime minister floated a proposal to resolve the border issue through diplomatic channels. 

During a bilateral meeting held at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday, Nepal and India signed four agreements.