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President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school, Associated Press reported.

“Time is of the essence. Lives will be saved,” he said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Citing the families of shooting victims he has met, the president said, “Their message to us was, ‘Do something.’ How many times did we hear that? ‘Just do something. For God’s sake, just do something.’ Today we did.”

The House gave final approval Friday, following Senate passage Thursday, and Biden acted just before leaving Washington for two summits in Europe.

“Today we say, ‘More than enough,’” Biden said. “It’s time, when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential.”

The legislation will toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.

The president called it “a historic achievement.”

Most of its $13 billion cost will help bolster mental health programs and aid schools, which have been targeted in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and elsewhere in mass shootings.

Biden said the compromise hammered out by a bipartisan group of senators from both parties “doesn’t do everything I want” but “it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives.” 

“I know there’s much more work to do, and I’m never going to give up, but this is a monumental day,” said the president, who was joined by his wife, Jill, a teacher, for the signing, according to Associated Press.

After sitting to sign the bill, Biden sat reflectively for a moment, then murmured, “God willing, this is gonna save a lot of lives.”

He also said they will host an event on July 11 for lawmakers and families affected by gun violence. The president spoke of families “who lost their souls to an epidemic of gun violence. They lost their child, their husband, their wife. Nothing is going to fill that void in their hearts. But they led the way so other families will not have the experience and the pain and trauma that they had to live through.”

Biden signed the measure two days after the Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday striking down a New York law that restricted peoples’ ability to carry concealed weapons. And Saturday’s ceremony came less than 24 hours after the high court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, which had legalized abortion nationwide for nearly five decades. 

“Yesterday, I spoke about the Supreme Court’s shocking decision striking down Roe v. Wade,” Biden said. “Jill and I know how painful and devastating the decision is for so many Americans. I mean so many Americans.” 

He noted that the abortion ruling leaves enforcement up to the states, some of which have already moved to ban abortion or will soon do so. Biden said his administration will “focus on how they administer it and whether or not they violate other laws, like deciding to not allow people to cross state lines to get health services.” 

Asked by reporters about whether the Supreme Court was broken, Biden said, “I think the Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions.” He walked away without answering more questions, noting, ” “I have a helicopter waiting for me to take off.”

Naveen Srivastava, the new Ambassador of India to Nepal,  arrived in Kathmandu today. 

Shri Naveen Srivastava is a career diplomat. He is coming from New Delhi where he was heading the East Asia Division that deals with China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. He headed the Indian delegation in several rounds of diplomatic talks with China on the eastern Ladakh border row. 

Shri Srivastava has served previously as Ambassador of India in Cambodia from 2015-17. He has also served in Washington, Beijing, Shanghai and Hongkong in various capacities.

The decision made by the Secretariat meeting of the party held on June 5 to reshuffle the ministers has pushed the CPN (Unified Socialist) into a grave crisis.

At a time when the differences have been exacerbating within the party, Health Minister Birodh Khatiwada among other ministers and lawmakers submitted an eight-point attention letter to Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal on Friday.

Along with Khatiwada, Urban Development Minister Ram Kumari Jhankri, Tourism Minister Prem Ale, Labour Minister Krishna Kumar Shrestha, lawmakers Krishna Lal Maharjan, Gopal Bahadur Bam, Bina Budhathoki, Niru Devi Jairu, Dhan Bahadur Budha and Pushpa Kumari Karna Kayastha signed the letter.

They have demanded that the party call the Parliamentary Party meeting at the earliest.

In the letter, they expressed their dissatisfaction saying that the list of the proposed new ministers is non-inclusive. They even said that the party treated them like criminals.

The Unified Socialist had appointed five ministers on October 8 for six months. But, a dispute has surfaced in the party even though a proposal to reshuffle the ministers was submitted to the Prime Minister after eight months.

Home Minister Balkrishna Khand has seen off the Haj pilgrims who are leaving for Mecca Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Home Minister Khand reached Tribhuvan International Airport this morning and bade farewell to 113 pilgrims.

The government had allocated seats to 555 persons for Haj pilgrimage this year. While seeing off the pilgrims, Minister Khand said that the government treats and respects all religions equally.

The tradition of Haj pilgrimage has made Nepal known to the world, which the Minister believed would foster fraternity.

General Secretary of Nepali Congress Mahendra Yadav and Chairperson of Nepal Haj Committee, Shumsher Minya had also reached the airport to bid farewell.