KHADGA PRASAD OLI

Nepal’s new prime minister got the support of more than half the members of the House of Representatives, which would allow him to continue in power until general elections scheduled for next year. Sher Bahadur Deuba got 165 votes in his favor while 83 members of parliament's lower house voted against him Sunday, Speaker Agni Sapkota announced. This is Deuba's fifth time as prime minister of the Himalayan nation, which is currently struggling with political divisions and the coronavirus.

A veteran politician was appointed Nepal's prime minister for the fifth time on Tuesday, a day after the Supreme Court reinstated the House of Representatives and upheld his claim to be the new leader. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari's office said Sher Bahadur Deuba, who leads the Nepali Congress party, was appointed the new prime minister. Deuba will lead the Himalayan nation as it struggles with political divisions and the coronavirus.

Hundreds of climbers are making the final push to the Mount Everest summit with only a few more days left in the season, saying they are undeterred by a coronavirus outbreak in base camp.

Nepal’s president dissolved Parliament and announced fresh elections on Saturday after the prime minister, who was heading a minority government and was unlikely to secure a vote of confidence in the chamber, recommended the move. A notice issued by President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s office set the elections for Nov. 12 and 19. Nepal has been grappling with a political crisis at the same time it's struggling with a coronavirus surge and record numbers of daily infections and deaths, amid acute shortages of hospital beds, medication and oxygen.

Nepal’s ousted prime minister, who lost a vote of confidence in Parliament earlier this week, will stay in office as the leader of a minority government after political parties couldn’t agree to a coalition government.

Nepal’s prime minister lost a vote of confidence in parliament Monday, ending his attempt to show he has enough support to remain in office. Only 93 lawmakers backed Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, while 124 voted against him. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari is expected to ask Oli to lead a caretaker government while parties in parliament seek to form a new government.

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A Nepalese protester burns an effigy of prime minister Khadga Prasad Oli in front of the parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Nepals president dissolved Parliament on Sunday after the prime minister recommended the move amid an escalating feud within his Communist Party that is likely to push the Himalayan nation into a political crisis. Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli decided to dissolve Parliament at a Cabinet meeting Sunday and immediately presented his recommendation. Oli became prime minister after his Nepal Communist Party won elections three years ago. Oli's party and the party of former Maoist rebels had merged to form a strong communist party to win the election.

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Oli could be forced out of office within weeks amid an internal tussle for power within his governing party following his sharp rhetoric on neighboring India and as Chinese influence grows in Nepal. Just this week, China's ambassador to Nepal held meetings with some top Nepal Communist Party leaders. Because there is a Communist government in Nepal, Indian leadership think Nepal is guided by the Chinese, which is not true at all, said Birod Khatiwada, a member of the Nepal Communist Party central committee. Oli was elected prime minister in 2017 after the Nepal Communist Party won a majority of the seats in parliament. But 2 1/2 years after taking power, Oli has shown no signs of stepping down.

Nepals foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali gestures during an interview with the Associated Press in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 9, 2020. Gyawali said Tuesday that the country was still waiting for a response from India on holding talks to resolve a border dispute that has strained relations between the South Asian neighbors. Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali told The Associated Press in an interview that requests to talk were made in November and December last year, and again in May. We have expressed time and again that Nepal wants to sit at the table to resolve this problem, Gyawali said. There have been reports that India does not want to hold negotiations with Nepal until its coronavirus outbreak is brought under control.