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The Non-Resident Nepali Association has welcomed the ‘Nepal Citizenship (9th Amendment) Bill, 2079’ passed by the House of Representatives. The lower house passed the long-awaited bill last Friday.

Executive Chair of the Non-Resident Nepali Association International Coordination Council Kul Acharya said that with the passing of the bill it will connect Nepalis around the world with their motherland and it will be easier to bring in foreign investment to Nepal.

He recalled that since the establishment of the Association it has been emphasizing on utilizing the skills, resources and capital of the expatriate Nepalis for the benefit and progress of Nepal.

Acharya also thanked all the members of parliament, political party leaders, media, and all those who contributed to the endorsement of the said bill from the House of Representatives.

Similarly, another president of the association, Rabina Thapa, also welcomed the Citizenship Bill saying the non-resident Nepalis have a lot left to do for their motherland. “With the new bill I hope that all of us non-resident Nepalis will unite for our homeland”, she said.

General Secretary of the association Dr. Keshav Paudel said that all the non-resident Nepalis have been waiting for this since a long time and assurance of the non-resident Nepali citizenship is the first success towards that end.

According to the bill, if there is proof that any non-resident Nepali’s parents, grandparents or great-grandparents are citizens of Nepal, such persons will get non-resident citizenship. This will be applicable for those living in countries other than the SAARC member states.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of "barbarism" after a missile attack on the port of Odesa, BBC reported.

A landmark deal to resume Ukraine's grain exports - signed hours before the strike - now hangs in the balance.

Moscow has not commented on the attack and Kyiv has said preparations are still underway to resume the grain exports despite the apparent breach.

But on Saturday President Zelensky said it illustrates how Moscow cannot be trusted to stick to the deal.

He vowed to do everything possible to acquire air defence systems able to shoot down such missiles in the future.

Ukraine is a major grain exporter, but because of the war, about 20m tonnes of grain is trapped in its ports, unable to leave because of Russian forces. This has lead to food shortages and price rises across Africa, which usually relies on Ukraine and Russia for wheat.

Under Friday's deal, Russia agreed not to target ports while grain shipments were in transit. 

But just hours after the agreement was signed, two Kalibr missiles hit Odesa port, according to the Ukrainian military's southern command centre. Another two missiles were shot down by air defence systems, it added.

The strike caused no significant damage to the port, the command centre said.

The attack has been widely condemned. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of worsening a global food crisis, and said the attack cast "serious doubt" on the credibility of Russia's commitment to the pact, according to BBC.

"Russia must stop its aggression and fully implement the grain deal to which it has agreed," he said on Saturday.

The Kremlin has so far made no public comment on the attack, however the Turkish government, which brokered the deal, said Russian officials had denied responsibility. 

"In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail," said Defence Minister Hulusai Akar.

In another development, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Ukraine could not win against Russia. 

Speaking at an international conference of conservatives, he said the war could only be ended by peace talks between Washington and Moscow.

"A new strategy is needed, which should focus on peace negotiations instead of trying to win the war," said Mr Orban, whose views on the conflict are often at odds with those of other EU leaders.

On Friday, officials from Kyiv and Moscow signed a deal to allow millions of tonnes of grain trapped in Ukraine to be exported. 

The agreement was hailed as a "beacon of hope" by the UN after months of fighting. 

The deal - which took two months to reach - is set to last for 120 days, with a co-ordination and monitoring centre to be established in Istanbul, staffed by UN, Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian officials. It can be renewed if both parties agree, BBC reported.

Nepali Congress President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the government will announce the date for federal and provincial elections soon.

He said so while inaugurating the Nepal Press Union's ninth national general convention in Hetauda today.

PM Deuba said that the government has been making necessary preparations for the same.

"The government is preparing for the elections. I urge the media to use their pens for the conduction of the election in a free, fair, and credible environment. Only impartial journalism makes the nation and democracy stronger," the Prime Minister said.

He also pressed for journalism to push its pen on topics of political stability.

Stating that the trend of intentional blaming has increased in the media of late, the PM stressed that only impartial journalism would make the nation and the democracy stronger.

"The Press has played an important role in the movement for political change in Nepal."

Prime Minister Deuba recalled that the mass media had played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pointing out the need of a healthy journalism in the country for consolidating democracy, PM Deuba said the Nepali Congress is always committed to democracy and freedom of expression.

Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki has reiterated that the government is ready to move ahead collaborating with trade unions of journalists for promoting the rights and interests and security of journalists and overall progress of journalism.

He said so while addressing the inaugural session of Nepal Press Union’s the ninth general national convention in Hetauda on Friday.

Minister Karki on the occasion spoke of the need of making the national unity stronger by protecting the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

"The press should work as a bridge between the government and the public. It should help bring economic and social transformation," he said.

Also the government spokesperson, Minister Karki said that the government has registered a new citizenship bill in the House of Representatives for easing the distribution of citizenship.

Nepali Congress general secretary Gagan Thapa, who also took part in the program, said the political parties should come out of the power-centric mentality and become accountable to the nation and people while keeping alive the freedom of the press and freedom of expression for protecting democracy.

NPU Central President Badri Prasad Sigdel reiterated that freedom of press is required to make the democracy functional and dynamic. 

Central President of the Socialist Press Organization Nepal, Shambhu Shrestha called on all the media trade unions to be united and move ahead for the protection of the freedom of the press and democracy as per the spirit of the constitution.

NPU Makwanpur President Kumar Adhikari informed that the NPU's national convention which will run till July 23 will elect its new leadership and the presentation of the Union's report, annual programs and the process for registering candidacies would be conducted in the closed-door session of general convention this afternoon. 

One thousand nine hundred voters including representatives and observers from all the seven provinces are attending the NPU ninth national general convention.