International news brief: Nepal President Bidya Devi returns citizenship amendment Bill

Kathmandu, Aug 14: Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday returned the country's first Citizenship Amendment Bill to the House of Representatives for reconsideration, a month after it was passed in Parliament. Spokesperson of the Office of President Sagar Acharya said since it was felt necessary to review the bill in the House and has been sent back.

The bill was presented to the president for authentication after being endorsed by the House of Representatives (HoR) and the National Assembly (NA). The bill was to amend the Nepal Citizenship Act 2063 BS.

It has sparked controversy after lawmakers of the main opposition CPN-UML raised questions on some of its provisions including granting citizenship certificates immediately to foreign women married to Nepali citizens.

'You are next': Author JK Rowling receives death threat over Salman Rushdie tweet

The police in Scotland on Sunday said they are investigating an online threat, believed to be from Pakistan, made to Harry Potter author J K Rowling in the wake of her support for Mumbai-born writer Salman Rushdie following his stabbing at a literary event in New York state. Rowling, 57, shared screenshots of a Twitter message stating: "Don't worry, you are next". The same Twitter account, believed to be based in Pakistan, also posted messages praising the man who attacked Rushdie, 75, on stage at the event in New York state.

Despite public anger, no progress in Iraq political deadlock

Weeks after followers of an influential cleric stormed parliament, Iraq's political crisis shows no signs of abating, despite rising public anger over a debilitating gridlock that has further weakened the country's caretaker government and its ability to provide basic services. Iraq's two rival Shiite political camps remain locked in a zero-sum competition, and the lone voice potentially able to end the rift - the revered Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani - has been conspicuously silent.

Taiwan thanks India and other countries for calls to de-escalate tensions in Taiwan Strait

Taiwan on Sunday expressed gratitude to India and several other countries for their calls for exercising restrain and avoiding unilateral actions to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait in the face of China's belligerent military posturing following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island.

With Beijing launching a diplomatic overdrive seeking reiteration of support by countries across the world for its 'One China' policy in the backdrop of the current crisis, Taiwan said it is entitled to maintain relations with other nations. Pelosi's visit to Taiwan around 10 days back drew a furious response from China which launched its biggest-ever military exercise around the self-governing island and blamed the US for escalating the tension in the region.

with agency inputs