Government takes back Electricity Bill-2077
The government has taken back the Electricity Bill-2077, which was under consideration at the National Assembly. The government withdrew the under consideration bill in accordance with Article 112 of the Constitution and Rule-116 of the National Assembly Regulations. The proposal presented by Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation for the withdrawal of the bill in today's National Assembly meeting was passed unanimously. On the occasion, National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina announced the withdrawal of the bill from the National Assembly. The next meeting of the National Assembly will be held at 11 am on September 18.
Government recommends President Bhandari to end House session from tomorrow
The government has recommended President Bidya Devi Bhandari to end the Parliament session from Saturday. A Cabinet meeting held at the official residence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Baluwatar on Friday decided to recommend the President to end the House session from tomorrow. Earlier, a Parliament meeting held this afternoon endorsed three ordinances.
Ukrainian president: Mass grave found near recaptured city
Ukrainian authorities found a mass burial site near a recaptured northeastern city previously occupied by Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Thursday night, Associated Press reported.
The grave was discovered close to Izium in the Kharkiv region.
“The necessary procedures have already begun there. More information — clear, verifiable information — should be available tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly televised address.
Associated Press journalists saw the site Thursday in a forest outside Izium. Amid the trees were hundreds of graves with simple wooden crosses, most of them marked only with numbers. A larger grave bore a marker saying it contained the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers.
Investigators with metal detectors were scanning the site for any hidden explosives.
Oleg Kotenko, an official with the Ukrainian ministry tasked with reintegrating occupied territories, said videos that Russian soldiers posted on social media indicated there were likely more than 17 bodies in the grave.
“We haven’t counted them yet, but I think there are more than 25 or even 30,” he said.
Izium resident Sergei Gorodko said that among the hundreds buried in individual graves were dozens of adults and children killed in a Russian airstrike on an apartment building.
He said he pulled some of them out of the rubble “with my own hands.”
Zelenskyy invoked the names of other Ukrainian cities where authorities said retreating Russian troops left behind mass graves of civilians and evidence of possible war crimes.
“ Bucha, Mariupol, now, unfortunately, Izium. … Russia leaves death everywhere. And it must be held accountable for it. The world must bring Russia to real responsibility for this war,” he said in the address, according to Associated Press.
Sergei Bolvinov, a senior investigator for Ukrainian police in the eastern Kharkiv region, told British TV broadcaster Sky News that a pit containing more than 440 bodies was discovered near Izium after Kyiv’s forces swept in. He described the grave as “one of the largest burial sites in any one liberated city.”
Some of the people buried in the pit were shot. Others died from artillery fire, mines or airstrikes. Many of the bodies have not been identified yet, Bolvinov said.
Russian forces left Izium and other parts of the Kharkiv region last week amid a stunning Ukrainian counteroffensive. On Wednesday, Zelenskyy made a rare trip outside the capital to watch the national flag being raised over Izium’s city hall.
Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Enin said Thursday night that other evidence found after Kyiv’s sweeping advance into the Kharkiv region included multiple “torture chambers” where both Ukrainian citizens and foreigners were detained “in completely inhuman conditions.”
“We have already come across the exhumation of individual bodies, not only with traces of a violent death, but also of torture — cut off ears, etc. This is just the beginning,” Enin said in an interview with Ukraine’s Radio NV.
He claimed that among those held at one of the sites were students from an unspecified Asian country who were captured at a Russian checkpoint as they tried to leave for Ukrainian-controlled territory, Associated Press reported.
Enin did not specify where the students were held, although he named the small cities of Balakliya and Volchansk as two locations where torture chambers were found. His account could not be independently verified.
Putin-Xi talks: Russian leader reveals China's 'concern' over Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has acknowledged China's "concern" over Ukraine, in his first face-to-face talks with President Xi Jinping since the Russian invasion, BBC reported.
But speaking in Uzbekistan, Mr Putin also thanked China for its "balanced position" - and said US "attempts to create a unipolar world" would fail.
Mr Xi said China was willing to work with Russia as "major countries".
China hasn't endorsed Russia's invasion but has grown trade and other ties with Moscow since it was launched.
The two leaders' meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand comes at a crucial point in the Ukraine war, as Russian troops lose ground in parts of the country.
"We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis," Mr Putin told Mr Xi, on only his second foray abroad since February's invasion.
Revealing that China had "questions and concern" about the situation in Ukraine, he said he understood.
"During today's meeting, we will of course explain our position," Mr Putin said.
In contrast to Mr Putin's statement, the Chinese government readout after the meeting notably did not mention the Ukraine war.
But it said Russia and China would extend "strong mutual support" on core interests. Together, the two would play "a leading role in injecting stability into a world of change and disorder", and Beijing called their partnership "as stable as mountains".
The invasion has plunged Moscow into its worst crisis with the West since the Cold War and has sent global food and energy prices soaring, according to BBC.
It also poses a huge challenge for China - whose relations with the West have nosedived in recent years over issues including human rights and the future of Taiwan.
Mr Putin and Mr Xi have met dozens of times over the years but their latest talks received particular scrutiny.
Their growing relationship - which they characterise as a bulwark to Western dominance - signifies a major shift in the world order following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The roles are reversed now, with China the dominant partner, having risen to become an economic superpower.
"Putin is getting more out of it than Xi - Russia is quite isolated internationally," Professor Emeritus Rosemary Foot, a senior research fellow in international relations at Oxford University, told the BBC.
"So it's important to show that China is a supportive partner, not an ally but certainly a supportive actor. There is a close relationship."
For Mr Xi, who described Mr Putin as "an old friend", the optics of the meeting were also significant.
He is seeking a historic third term at a Communist Party congress next month, and his visit to Central Asia is the first time he has left China since the start of the Covid pandemic.
His trip comes amid fresh lockdowns in China, where his "zero Covid" policy is still in place. While the rest of the world has opened up, Beijing continues to shut down entire cities and provinces every time cases flare up.
China and Russia have long sought to position the SCO, founded in 2001 with four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations, as an alternative to Western multilateral groups. India, Pakistan and Iran are also members.
During their last meeting in February - when Mr Putin travelled to Beijing for the Winter Olympics at Mr Xi's invitation - the two sought to demonstrate their close ties, famously declaring they shared a friendship with "no limits".
Days later Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting international condemnation and sanctions, while putting the China-Russia relationship under an intense spotlight.
Beijing has urged an end to hostilities and stressed the importance of national sovereignty. But it has also refused to call the war an invasion, as Russia refers to it as a "special military operation".
In recent weeks China has sent troops to take part in joint military exercises with Russia, and sent senior officials to meet Russian counterparts. It has also come to Russia's economic aid as Western sanctions were imposed, BBC reported.
This relationship has been a win-win for both countries. With Europe reducing its dependency on Russian oil and gas, China has increased its purchases, which it is reportedly getting at discounted rates.
Last month Beijing also agreed to pay for gas in Russian roubles and Chinese yuan, giving Moscow a much-needed alternative to dollars as a foreign reserve, while furthering China's interests in boosting the yuan as an international currency.
But China appears to have drawn a line.
US intelligence says Moscow is so desperate for weapons, it has turned to Iran and even North Korea for supplies. It has also apparently approached China - but there has been no indication so far that Beijing has agreed.
Some experts believe that despite the rosy picture of comradeship, Mr Xi will want to maintain some distance between him and Mr Putin for several reasons.
"It would be spectacularly inept to choose the moment of maximum Russian tactical retreat in Ukraine to lean into Moscow even harder than Beijing already has," said Evan Feigenbaum, vice-president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in a recent commentary.
Another concern for Mr Xi is that former Soviet Central Asian countries, four of which are members of the SCO, do not support Russia's invasion of Ukraine - which also used to be part of the USSR, according to BBC.
"[Mr Xi] must be very aware that Central Asia is unhappy and nervous about what's going on," Prof Foot told the BBC.
