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Political brief

Amid growing tensions with Russia, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken is travelling to Ukraine and Germany this week.

In Kyiv, Blinken will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba "to reinforce the United States' commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Ned Price, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

In Berlin, Blinken will "discuss recent diplomatic engagements with Russia and joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine, including Allies' and partners' readiness to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia."

Blinken will meet with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, followed by a meeting with the Transatlantic Quad, which also includes the UK and France, according to Price. Last week, there was a diplomatic talk between American and Russian officials which did not yield any results. 

The ruling coalition has agreed to hold the local level elections in April.

A meeting of the senior leaders of the ruling coalition held at the Prime Minister’s office in Baluwatar on Tuesday agreed to hold the elections in April.

Government spokesperson and Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said that the leaders have agreed to hold the local level elections on time.

He said that the next meeting will be held on Thursday to discuss more about the elections.

The Election Commission had urged the government to hold the elections on April 27 and May 5.

Province-2 has been named Madhesh Province while Janakpur has been declared as its permanent capital.

A Province Assembly meeting held on Monday decided to name Province 2 as Madhesh Province and declare Janakpur as its permanent headquarters.

Of the of 99 lawmakers who took part in the voting today, 78 cast their ballots in favour of making Janakpur as the permanent capital of Province 2. 

Similarly, 80 members voted in favour of the proposal to name Province 2 as Madhesh Province while 19 voted against the proposal.