Nepal’s new prime minister has taken the oath of office at a ceremony in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s newly appointed prime minister took the oath of office Monday at a ceremony in Kathmandu.

Khadga Prasad Oli, the leader of Nepal’s largest communist party, was named prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government.

Oli, 72, will be leading a coalition government made up of his Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and the Nepali Congress party, the two largest parties in Nepal. This is his fourth time serving as prime minister of the Himalayan nation.

Two deputy prime ministers and 19 ministers appointed by him also took the oath of office. He is expected to further expand the Cabinet, including members from coalition partner parties.

The last government headed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal collapsed on Friday after Oli’s party, which had been part of the coalition, withdrew its support to join the new partnership.

Oli will have to seek a vote of confidence in parliament within a month to continue in office. The two parties in the new alliance have more than half the members in parliament, giving them enough votes to pass a vote of confidence.

Oli’s biggest challenge as prime minister will be balancing Nepal’s relationship with its giant neighbors India and China, as both seek to wield influence over the small nation. Landlocked Nepal is surrounded by India on three sides and imports all of its oil and most supplies from India. It also shares a border with China.

“Among other challenges, the new government has the task to re-establish Nepal's diplomatic credibility and balance between the powers in the north (China) and south (India),” said Bhoj raj Pokhrel, an independent analyst.

Relations between Nepal and India had sunk to their lowest level during Oli’s first term as prime minister in 2015, when India was unhappy with a new constitution adopted by Nepal.

India imposed an unofficial economic blockade on Nepal, blocking supplies of oil, medicine and other goods that created severe shortages in the country. But relations calmed after Oli visited New Delhi in February 2016.

Oli was credited with opening doors with China and boosting trade and joint infrastructure projects including a highway through the mountains. Oli’s relations with China have annoyed New Delhi.

Oli was born in a village in east Nepal and has been involved in politics since he was young.

He worked his way up the ranks of the communist party and was jailed a total of 14 years for opposing the autocratic rule of Nepal’s monarchs. The royals banned political parties until 1990, when street protests forced then-King Birendra to hold free elections that turned Nepal into a constitutional monarchy, which was formally abolished in 2008.

Oli has had two kidney transplants.

Newly elected Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli is being sworn by President Ram Chandra Paudel, unseen, at the Presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, July 15, 2024. Khadga Prasad Oli, the leader of Nepal’s largest communist party, was named prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government.(AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Nepal's newly elected Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, left, and outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, center, arrive for the oath of office in the Presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, July 15, 2024. Oli, the leader of Nepal’s largest communist party, was named prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Nepal's newly elected Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, right, and outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, left, talk before the oath of office in the Presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, July 15, 2024. Oli, the leader of Nepal’s largest communist party, was named prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Newly elected Prime Minister Khadga Prassad Oli is being sworn by president Ram Prassad Poudel, unseen, at the Presidential residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, July 15, 2024. Khadga Prasad Oli, the leader of Nepal’s largest communist party, was named prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government.(AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Khadga Prasad Oli, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal leaves his residence to meet his supporters after being appointed Prime Minister, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, July 14, 2024. The leader of the Nepal's largest communist party, Khadga Prasad Oli, was named the Himalayan nation's new prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Khadga Prasad Oli, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal leaves his residence to meet his supporters after being appointed Prime Minister, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, July 14, 2024. The leader of the Nepal's largest communist party, Khadga Prasad Oli, was named the Himalayan nation's new prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Khadga Prasad Oli, left, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal leaves his residence to meet his supporters after being appointed as Prime Minister, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, July 14, 2024. The leader of the Nepal's largest communist party, Khadga Prasad Oli, was named the Himalayan nation's new prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Khadga Prasad Oli, centre, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal leaves his residence to meet his supporters after being appointed as Prime Minister, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, July 14, 2024. The leader of the Nepal's largest communist party, Khadga Prasad Oli, was named the Himalayan nation's new prime minister on Sunday following the collapse of a previous coalition government. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

The FBI said former President Donald Trump was the target of “what appears to be an attempted assassination ” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life.

Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a July rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.

U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire on Sunday after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while he was golfing. No injuries were reported. Officials say the person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.

He was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Routh appeared in federal court in Florida Monday and was charged with federal gun crimes.

Here is the Latest:

Ryan Wesley Routh has had his first appearance in federal court.

During an eight-minute hearing, prosecutors levied two charges against him: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

Officials said Routh could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the first charge, and a possible five-year sentence on the second charge.

A bond hearing has been schedule for Sept. 23, and a probable cause hearing or arraignment has been set for Sept. 30, depending on whether the government secures an indictment on the charges.

During the hearing, Routh gave routine information to court officials as to his work status and income. Speaking in a soft voice, he said that he was working and making around $3,000 a month, but has zero savings.

Routh said that he has no real estate or assets, aside from two trucks worth about $1,000, both located in Hawaii.

Routh also said that he has a 25-year-old son, whom he sometimes supports.

Trump is blaming his political rivals’ rhetoric for Sunday’s apparent attempt on his life.

Trump said Monday in an interview with Fox News Digital that the accused gunman “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it.”

The former president went on to say, “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”

The tone was different than the one Trump adopted immediately after the Pennsylvania assassination attempt in July, when he called for unity and a cooling of the campaign’s tenor, including during his speech at the Republican National Convention.

“They use highly inflammatory language,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I can use it too — far better than they can — but I don’t.”

Routh, the man accused of trying to shoot at Trump on Sunday, had expressed support for Trump online in as recently as 2020, but in recent years, his posts suggest he soured on him, expressing support for Biden and Harris.

The White House responded to Elon Musk’s post on X about presidential assassinations, which stirred outrage on social media.

“Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about,” said spokesperson Andrew Bates in a statement on Monday. “This rhetoric is irresponsible.”

Musk deleted his comment on Sunday, which he posted in the wake of a second alleged attempt on Donald Trump’s life. He had written “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.”

“Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X,” Musk wrote later.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will be demanding more Secret Service protection for Trump, saying he needs more attention than any other protectee.

“He’s the most attacked. He’s the most threatened, even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office,” Johnson, R-La., said on “Fox & Friends.” “We are demanding in the House that he have every asset available.”

The Republican speaker was on his way to visit Trump on Sunday when the former president was targeted while golfing. The suspect is now in custody.

Johnson and his wife, Kelly, visited with Trump afterward for about three hours, and the speaker said he was in “good spirits.”

The House’s bipartisan task force on the July assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania is monitoring the situation and has requested a briefing. Johnson said the panel was scheduled to hold a hearing later this month as it investigates the political violence.

“There’s going to be reports and recommendations coming forward, and Congress will act swiftly,” Johnson said. “We need accountability.”

Johnson said he has “no faith” in Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The House impeached Mayorkas earlier this year over the department’s handling of immigration, but the Senate declined to consider the charges in a trial.

Ryan Wesley Routh briefly entered a Florida courtroom Monday morning for his initial appearance, wearing a dark blue jail jumpsuit and his arms and legs shackled. He sat quietly for about five minutes with no visible signs of nervousness before marshals led him back out to await his hearing.

The Associated Press filmed Ryan Wesley Routh in April 2022 at a demonstration in Kyiv’s Independence Square two months after Russia invaded Ukraine.

A placard he was holding said: “We cannot tolerate corruption and evil for another 50+ years. End Russia for our kids.” He wore a blue vest with the American flag on the back, along with a scarf and T-shirt in the colors of his national flag, while participating in a small rally.

Other participants held posters drawing attention to Mariupol, which was under siege at the time and is now occupied by Russia. That same day, Routh also paid tribute to foreign citizens killed during the war near a makeshift memorial sign reading “Foreigners killed by Putin.”

Ryan Wesley Routh has never served in the Ukrainian army nor collaborated with the military in any capacity, according to Oleksandr Shahuri, a representative officer of the Foreigners Coordination Department of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command.

Over the past two-and-a-half years, Routh has periodically contacted the international legion with what Shahuri described as “nonsensical ideas.” His plans and ideas can best be described as delusional.”

Shahuri, speaking to The Associated Press, firmly denied any connection to Routh. The International Legion of Ukraine was created shortly after the outbreak of the war by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It consists of foreign citizens “wishing to join the resistance against the Russian occupants and fight for global security,” according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.

Zelenskyy released a statement on X regarding the apparent assassination attempt: “I am glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe and unharmed. My best wishes to him and his family. It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world. We sincerely hope that everyone remains safe.”

Trump campaign leaders are crediting the Secret Service with keeping the former president safe following an apparent assassination attempt in Florida.

In an email sent to staff Sunday evening, senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles wrote, “Today, for the second time in two months, an evil monster attempted to take the life of President Trump.”

“Thankfully, no one was injured at the Golf Course. President Trump and everyone accompanying him are safe thanks to the great work of the United States Secret Service,” they wrote.

They added that campaign staffers’ safety is “always our top priority” and asked those receiving the email to “remain vigilant” and “observant and maintain a constant level of situational awareness."

The leaders of a bipartisan task force in Congress that has been investigating the assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally in July said it is monitoring the Florida situation and has requested a briefing by the Secret Service.

“We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” said Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa. and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. “The Task Force will share updates as we learn more.”

It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect Trump's campaign schedule.

On Monday night, he was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. Trump planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised about any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.

The man who authorities say pointed a rifle with a scope into former President Donald Trump’s golf club and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

The officials identified the suspect to the AP but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Secret Service agents shot at the suspect, who was taken into custody after fleeing the scene of what the FBI is calling an apparent attempted assassination of the Republican presidential nominee. Authorities are working to determine a motive.

— By Associated Press reporters Colleen Long, Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak

Police officers direct traffic near Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump waves as he boards a plane at Harry Reid International Airport after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Security agents talk at the entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, March 31, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

A police officer directs traffic near Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Sheriff vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla., after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)

This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

This photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office shows Sheriff's vehicles surrounding an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP)

FILE - The motorcade for President Donald Trump arrives at Trump International Golf Club, Feb. 15, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Photos that show an AK-47 rifle, a backpack and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club taken after an apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, are displayed during a news conference at the Palm Beach County Main Library, Sunday. Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephany Matat)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at Harry Reid International Airport to board a plane after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Ryan Wesley Routh pays tribute to foreign citizens killed during Russia-Ukraine war in a central square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ryan Wesley Routh takes part in a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)