Attack on priests won’t recur: Nepal

Kathmandu, Sept 6 (IBNS) Nepal Culture Minister Minindra Rijal Sunday said providing security to the Indian priests here is of ‘prime importance’ to the government at the moment. He also said such an incident won’t be repeated in Nepal.

Blaming India, Nepal PM quits

KATHMANDU - After obstructing parliament for three weeks, Nepal’s Maoist party finally allowed the house to convene Friday with caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda making an impassioned valedictory address, in which he blamed neighbour India, Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav, his allies and the army chief, Gen Rookmangud Katawal and warned of a catastrophe in the days to come.

Indian businessman killed in Nepal

KATHMANDU - A 32-year-old Indian who had come to invest in Nepal only four months ago was killed in a remote town in the far west of the country, police said Friday.

Nepal Maoists brace for last fight before quitting power

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s former Maoist guerrilla party Friday said they would run the race for a new prime minister, ending a three-week deadlock that had gripped the nation after the fall of their government and threatened to disrupt the birth of a new constitution.

Apa Sherpa climbs Everest for the 19th time

KATHMANDU - A poor yak herder’s son who became a porter at the age of 12 to feed his family Thursday re-established his image as the greatest living Everest legend, conquering the world’s highest peak for an incredible 19th time.

Team India does nation proud on Mt Everest

KATHMANDU - In May 1959, six years after Mt Everest had been first climbed by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, India sent its first expedition to Mt Everest. But the Indian Army team led by Brigadier Gyan Singh was defeated ‘by the fury of elemental forces’.

UN Nepal mission rejects criticism over Maoist verification

KATHMANDU - The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) defended itself late Tuesday against criticism from Nepalese political parties over its role in the verification process of Maoist combatants.

Maoists block election of new Nepal premier

KATHMANDU - The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Monday obstructed parliament’s regular session which was to have elected a new prime minister.

Nepal parties inch closer to forming government

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s two main political parties, the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Nepali Congress, announced Sunday that they have the majority necessary to form a new government without the Maoists.

Madhav Kumar could become new Nepal PM: Report

KATHMANDU - Madhav Kumar Nepal could become the new prime minister of Nepal with his CPN-UML-led alliance getting the crucial support from a Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) faction, media reports said Sunday.

Koirala seeks China’s help to form government in Nepal

KATHMANDU - Nepali Congress (NC) leader Girija Prasad Koirala Thursday requested China to help the formation of a new government and put an end to the political crisis in Nepal.

Food insecurity looms large in Nepal: Report

KATHAMANDU - About 40 percent of the population in the mountain and hill districts in Nepal are facing a severe food crisis, a government report has said.

India concerned over Maoist doublespeak in Nepal

KATHMANDU/NEW DELHI - India is blaming the growing gap between the Maoists’ words and action, saying it caused the former guerrillas’ own allies and major political parties to distrust them, and which precipitated the fall of the Prachanda government in Nepal last week.

Nepal opposition steps up campaign against UN

KATHMANDU - The turmoil in Nepal triggered by the fall of the Maoist government last week deepened Monday with the main opposition party, the Nepali Congress, stepping up its campaign against the UN, accusing the world body of having blundered during its screening of the Maoist army two years ago.

ITC joint venture Nepal’s second highest tax payer

KATHMANDU - Despite growing labour trouble, tobacco giant ITC’s joint venture in Nepal remains one of the top tax payers in the Himalayan republic, coming second after the state-run Nepal Telecom.

Sitamarhi’s son to be Nepal’s new PM?

KATHMANDU - A 56-year-old veteran politician, whose forefathers came to Nepal from the border district of Sitamarhi in India’s Bihar state, could become Nepal’s new prime minister, succeeding caretaker Maoist premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

Nepal president orders polls to elect PM

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav Sunday asked the interim parliament to hold an election to choose a new prime minister after the nation’s major parties failed to meet his Saturday deadline for stitching up a consensus coalition.

Communists ready to form new Nepal government

KATHMANDU - The crisis gripping Nepal since the fall of its first Maoist government eased slightly Saturday with the third largest party, the Communists, officially declaring their readiness to take the plunge.

Nepal Maoists miss date with Buddha, new government

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s embattled Maoist party Saturday both failed to keep its date with the Buddha, one of the best loved icons of the Himalayan republic, and a new all-party government, keeping the country in the throes of uncertainty.

Nepal Maoists fear ‘dirty’ horse-trade ahead of poll

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s Maoist party, which last year won a historic election as well as the prime ministerial race, Saturday said it feared ‘dirty horse-trading’ by its opponents with money flowing to buy their way to power in the upcoming poll.

Three killed, five injured as Nepal cop goes berserk

KATHMANDU - Three people were killed and five injured when a policeman fired indiscriminately in southern Nepal, apparently after a property dispute, police said Saturday.

Nepal opposition calls for fresh count of Maoist troops

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s biggest opposition party Nepali Congress Friday stepped up its call for a fresh headcount of Maoist guerrilla fighters after a videotape showed Maoist chief and caretaker premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda saying he had inflated their number nearly fivefold.

Nepal prime minister offers olive branch to India

KATHMANDU - After blaming India for the failure to sack the army chief and accusing it of interfering in his country’s internal matters, Nepal’s caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda Friday held out the olive branch to New Delhi, saying his government had no bias against it.

Parleys on but no sign of new government in Nepal

KATHMANDU - Even 72 hours after the fall of Nepal’s first Maoist government and with a deadline set by the president to name a new coalition drawing closer there was still no sign of a successor government that would be acceptable to all major parties.

Nepal rules out swine flu as mystery virus kills 13

KATHMANDU - A medical team that rushed to a remote village in western Nepal after a mystery disease killed 13 people in less than a fortnight Wednesday ruled out an outbreak of swine flu and attributed the deaths to a viral attack.

Nepal PM defends leaked tape, says he has over 100,000 fighters

KATHMANDU - After a national outcry created by a leaked video tape, in which Nepal’s caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda was heard saying he had inflated the strength of his guerrilla fighters almost five-fold during a UN verification, the Maoist supremo Wednesday defended himself, saying his People’s Liberation Army (PLA) actually had over 100,000 fighters.

Prachanda backtracks on charges against India

KATHMANDU - Facing a new controversy after a leaked video tape that showed him saying that the size of his guerrilla army was widely inflated before the UN, Nepal’s caretaker Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda Wednesday defended the tape and backtracked on his accusations against India.

`Prachandagate’ video tape smears Nepal’s peace process

KATHMANDU - A video tape where Nepal’s outgoing premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda tells his cadres that the country’s peace process is no more than a tactic has been leaked to embarras his Maoist government that now rules as a caretaker. But it may end up embarrassing other major parties as well and cast doubts about the credibility of the peace process.

Nepal Maoists say they recruited 23,000 rebels after truce

KATHMANDU - Private television stations across Nepal Tuesday broadcast video footage of Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ telling his guerrilla commanders his party had successfully recruited over 23,000 soldiers after the 2006 truce and of his aim to control the army to grab absolute power.

President seeks new Nepal government by Saturday, Maoists on war path

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav, one of the key figures in the triangular drama that led to the fall of the Maoist-led government and triggered a constitutional crisis, Tuesday set a Saturday deadline for the formation of a new consensus government, a directive strongly rejected by the former guerrillas.