Nepal’s PM resigns before facing vote
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s prime minister resigned on Sunday shortly before he was to face a confidence vote in parliament that he expected to lose, further aggravating political instability in the Himalayan country.
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli’s 9-month-old government had lost its majority support this month after the Maoist party pulled out of the coalition, accusing Mr. Oli of failing to honor power-sharing agreements.
In a nationally televised speech in parliament, Mr. Oli said Sunday that the way he was forced to resign would have far-reaching implications for the country and lead to further political instability.
No ASEAN consensus
VIENTIANE, Laos — Southeast Asia’s main grouping apparently failed to reach a consensus Sunday on how to counter China’s territorial expansion in the South China Sea, intensifying a diplomatic stalemate despite three rounds of formal and informal talks.
The foreign ministers of the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations deliberated for several hours during the three sessions, including over lunch, but remained deadlocked because Cambodia didn’t want China criticized, diplomats said.
The stalemate puts pressure on ASEAN’s cherished unity and also gives an upper hand to China, which has used every diplomatic means at its disposal to stave off wider international criticism over moves it’s made in the South China Sea that have impacted four Southeast Asian countries.
G20 deals with Brexit
BEIJING — Global finance officials promised Sunday to protect the world economy from the shockwaves of Britain’s European Union referendum and to boost sluggish growth.
Envoys of the Group of 20 major economies also rejected trade protectionism, an issue that has risen in prominence as U.S. Republication presidential candidate Donald Trump stirs unease with talk about restricting access to American markets.
The gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors from the United States, China, Britain, Germany and other governments took place against a backdrop of a weak global recovery that was rattled by Britain’s vote to leave the EU and trade tension over Chinese exports of lowpriced steel.
Spain economy growing
The Spanish economy is set to grow at a faster pace than previously forecast, Acting Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Sunday, even as caretaker Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy struggles to form a government and end seven months of political deadlock.
Speaking at the G-20 summit in Chengdu, China, Mr. De Guindos said the economy would grow 2.9 percent this year, faster than the 2.7 percent previously forecast. The economy expanded 3.2 percent in 2015, the fastest pace in eight years, as it benefited from monetary stimulus and rising household demand as well as faster job creation and falling oil prices.
Funeral for slain leader
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Tens of thousands of Cambodians marched Sunday in the funeral procession for a leading government critic who was fatally shot in an attack that raised suspicion of a political conspiracy.
A farm worker who was caught red-handed told police he killed Mr. Kem Ley, 45, over a $3,000 loan. However, the suspect’s wife said the family was too poor to lend so much money. Cambodia has a brutal history of political violence.