China hopes for stability:

Subcontinent

China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it hoped that all parties in Nepal put national interest first and worked for stability, after the landlocked country’s prime minister resigned, nine months after coming to power.

Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Oli resigned on Sunday, minutes before parliament was to vote on a no-confidence motion he was likely to lose.

The no-confidence motion was brought by former Maoist rebels who propped up the Oli-led government last October, but fell out with him after accusing him of failing to honour a powersharing deal.

Oli’s departure plunges the Himalayan country, plagued by political turmoil for years, into a whole new round of political uncertainty. This is the country’s 23rd government to fall since a multi-party democracy began in 1990 after bloody protests, and the political tumult has weighed on business confidence.

China is vying to increase its influence in Nepal, challenging India’s long-held position as the dominant outside power. (RTRS)

Oli