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The Embassy of Nepal in Islamabad organized a program today to celebrate the Constitution Day and the National Day of Nepal. Welcoming the guests to the event, Tapas Adhikari, Ambassador of Nepal to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, highlighted the importance of the day in Nepal's history and its role in national unity in a country of diversity like Nepal, read a statement issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Islamabad. The Ambassador further said that the Constitution embodies the federal system of governance and democratic norms and values as well as principles of human rights and human dignity. After several years of the promulgation of the Constitution, "the foundation the Constitution laid is gaining even stronger towards fulfilling the long-cherished aspirations of Nepali people for progress and prosperity", he added. Speaking on Nepal-Pakistan relations, the Ambassador said that the two countries enjoy excellent bilateral relations marked by cordiality, friendship and cooperation. He also highlighted the importance to further expand and diversify the relations to their potentials for mutual benefits. On the occasion, Ambassador Adhikari expressed his condolences to the Government and people of Pakistan for the damage caused by the recent massive monsoon floods in Pakistan. He also said that Nepal and Pakistan have been working closely to support each other during the times of such crisis, the statement read. Highlighting Nepal's natural and cultural| attractions, Ambassador Adhikari invited all to visit Nepal to experience the land of beauty and discovery. Speaking as Chief Guest, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister for Energy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, expressed congratulations and best wishes on behalf of the Government of Pakistan. The Chief Guest also highlighted the excellent state of bilateral relations between Nepal and Pakistan. The event was attended by Nawabzada Shazain Bugti, Federal Minister for Narcotics Control, members of parliaments, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman Senate Defence Committee, former ministers, high civilian and military officials of the Government of Pakistan and former ambassadors of Pakistan to Nepal; Ambassadors/High Commissioners to Pakistan as well as representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations; friends of Nepal, business and mediapersons and Nepali community members and the Embassy family members. Earlier in the morning, the Ambassador hoisted the national flag of Nepal in the Embassy premises.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has refused to authenticate the Citizenship Bill. President Bhandari has refused to certify the bill for the second time, which has a deadline till Tuesday midnight. Earlier on August 14, the President had sent the bill approved by the House of Representatives for the first time back to the Parliament with a 15-point suggestion for reconsideration. Later, both the houses endorsed the Bill for the second time without making any changes. On September 5, Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota sent bill to the President’s office for authentication. But, the President did not certify the bill within the given time frame. In the meantime, she held consultations with various experts and stakeholders on the bill. President Bhandari had held discussions with former chiefs of Nepal Army, legal experts and senior leaders of all the political parties. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had also urged the President to authenticate the bill. Senior leaders of the ruling coalition had also piled pressure on President Bhandari to certify the bill.

The world’s problems seized the spotlight Tuesday as the UN General Assembly’s yearly meeting of world leaders opened with dire assessments of a planet beset by escalating crises and conflicts that an aging international order seems increasingly ill-equipped to tackle, Associated Press reported.

After two years when many leaders weighed in by video because of the coronavirus pandemic, now presidents, premiers, monarchs and foreign ministers have gathered almost entirely in person for diplomacy’s premier global event.

But the tone is far from celebratory. Instead, it’s the blare of a tense and worried world.

“We are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, adding that “our world is in peril — and paralyzed.”

He and others pointed to conflicts ranging from Russia’s six-month-old war in Ukraine to the decades-long dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. Speakers worried about a changing climate, spiking fuel prices, food shortages, economic inequality, migration, disinformation, discrimination, hate speech, public health and more.

Priorities varied, as did prescriptions for curing the humanity’s ills. But in a forum dedicated to the idea of bringing the world together, many leaders sounded a common theme: The globe needs cooperation, dialogue and trust, now more than ever.

“We live in an era of uncertainty and shocks,” Chilean President Gabriel Boric said. “It is clear nowadays that no country, large or small, humble or powerful, can save itself on its own.”

Or, as Guterres put it, “Let’s work as one, as a coalition of the world, as united nations.”

It’s rarely that easy. As Guterres himself noted, geopolitical divisions are undermining the work of the U.N. Security Council, international law, people’s trust in democratic institutions, and most forms of international cooperation.

“The divergence between developed and developing countries, between North and South, between the privileged and the rest, is becoming more dangerous by the day,” the secretary-general said. “It is at the root of the geopolitical tensions and lack of trust that poison every area of global cooperation, from vaccines to sanctions to trade.”

While appeals to preserve large-scale international cooperation — or multilateralism, in diplomatic parlance — abound, so do different ideas about the balance between working together and standing up for oneself, and about whether an “international order” set up after World War II needs reordering, according to Associated Press.

“We want a multilateralism that is open and respectful of our differences,” Senegalese President Macky Sall said. He added that the U.N. can win all countries’ support only “on the basis of shared ideals, and not local values erected as universal norms.”

After the pandemic forced an entirely virtual meeting in 2020 and a hybrid one last year, delegates reflecting the world’s countries and cultures are once again filling the halls of the United Nations headquarters this week. Before the meeting began, leaders and ministers wearing masks wandered the assembly hall, chatting individually and in groups.

It was a sign that that despite the fragmented state of the international community, the United Nations remains the key gathering place for global leaders. Nearly 150 heads of state and government have signed on to speak during the nearly weeklong “General Debate,” a high number that illustrates the gathering’s distinction as a place to deliver their views and meet privately to discuss various challenges -- and, they hope, make some progress.

Guterres made sure to start out by sounding a note of hope. He showed a photo of the first U.N.-chartered ship carrying grain from Ukraine — part of a deal between Ukraine and Russia that the U.N. and Turkey helped broker — to the Horn of Africa, where millions of people are on the edge of famine It is, he said, an example of promise “in a world teeming with turmoil.”

Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine topped the agenda for many speakers.

The conflict has become the largest war in Europe since World War II and has opened fissures among major powers in a way not seen since the Cold War. It also has raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe at a large power plant in Ukraine’s now Russia-occupied southeast, Associated Press reported.