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Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed the concerned authorities to identify the problems of freed Kamaiyas and find ways to resolve them.

Addressing a program organized today on the occasion of the 22nd year of the declaration of abolishment of the Kamaiya (bonded labor) practice, he directed the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation to carry out the necessary works to root out this practice.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister said that creating employment opportunities for the freed Harawa Charawa and Kamaiyas and their families is also equally necessary.

"It is necessary for the three tiers of the government and the bodies concerned to boost up the freed Kamaiyas' self-respect, independence and honor by making them economically self-reliant," he said.

The Prime Minister directed all the bodies concerned to also run special targeted programs on a priority basis for increasing entrepreneurship among the families of such freed bonded laborers to make them self-reliant and for developing their skills and capacity for their long-term socio-economic progress.

PM Deuba said that unequal labor relations and exploitative practices as Harawa Charawa and Kamaiya, among others, have been abolished and the indentured families under such practices have been freed of their debts through the Abolition of the Kamaiya Practice Act, 2058 BS. 

Reiterating that the consistent efforts of all were needed in building a Nepal free from all types of exploitations, inequalities and injustices, he expressed his best wishes for happiness and decent living to all the freed Kamaiyas.

Sri Lanka's acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency, according to a government notice released late on Sunday, as his administration seeks to quell social unrest and tackle an economic crisis gripping the island nation, Reuters reported.

"It is expedient, so to do, in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community," the notification stated.

Sri Lanka’s ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled overseas this week to escape a popular uprising against his government, has said he took "all possible steps" to avert the economic crisis that has engulfed the island nation.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation was accepted by parliament on Friday. He flew to the Maldives and then Singapore after hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters came out onto the streets of Colombo a week ago and occupied his official residence and offices.

Sri Lanka's parliament met on Saturday to begin the process of electing a new president, and a shipment of fuel arrived to provide some relief to the crisis-hit nation, according to Reuters.

Wickremesinghe, an ally of Rajapaksa, is one of the top contenders to take on the presidency full-time but protesters also want him gone, leading to the prospect of further unrest should he be elected.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has fired the head of Ukraine's security agency (SBU) and the prosecutor general, citing many cases of treason in the two powerful organisations, BBC reported.

He said more than 60 former employees were now working against Ukraine in Russian-occupied areas.

A total of 651 collaboration and treason cases had been opened against law enforcement officials, he added.

The sacked officials, Ivan Bakanov and Iryna Venediktova, have not commented.

In his video address late on Sunday, Mr Zelensky said: "Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the national security of the state... pose very serious questions to the relevant heads [of the two organisations].

"Each of these questions will receive a proper answer," the Ukrainian president added.

The sacking of SBU chief Ivan Bakanov, a childhood friend of Mr Zelensky's, follows the high-profile arrest of a former SBU regional head in Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. Oleh Kulinych is suspected of treason, according to BBC.

In other developments on Sunday:

• Ukraine says a significant number of Russian warships in the Black Sea were moved from Crimea further east to the port of Novorossiysk. This comes as Kyiv has received further deliveries of longer-range missile systems from its Western allies
• Dozens of distraught relatives and local residents attended the funeral of four-year-old Liza, who was one of 24 people killed when Russian missiles hit the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on 14 July
• Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the Security Council, warned Ukraine of a "Judgement Day" if it were to attack Crimea

Newly appointed Ambassador of India to Nepal Naveen Srivastava paid a courtesy call on Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota at the latter's office in Singha Durbar on Sunday.

During the meeting, the Speaker expressed the hope that the relations between Nepal and India would reach qualitative heights through long experiences and the responsibility of Ambassador Srivastava during his tenure.

Stating that the two countries have exchanged original and multi-dynamic relations, he remembered the 75th establishment of the bilateral relations between the countries and the 75th Independence Day being observed by India.

Recent visit of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lumbini in Nepal has contributed a lot to religious tourism in the country and has opened a new chapter, he said, adding that the exchange of high level visits between Nepal and India has further strengthened relations between the two countries.

He also thanked Ambassador Srivastava for India having exhibited humanity to Nepal not only as a neighbor by providing medical equipment and COVID-19 vaccines at a time when the country was battling the virus.

Both the countries should have a common understanding on resolving problems facing the world including pressing climate change issues, he said. "We (both countries) must come together for a global peace."

On the occasion, the Speaker also touched on the issue of a lack of fertilizers that has hit Nepali farmers.

In response, stating that India has had a 'Neighbor First Policy', Ambassador Srivastava recalled the five prime ministerial level visits of India to Nepal in a span of eight years.

There have been many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries that have exchanged a long and historic relation, and connectivity could be further expanded, he viewed.

He was of the view that solutions to the impacts of climate change, a common problem in the South Asian region, should be sought collectively.