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Nepal

Nepal’s new PM urges political consensus

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepal’s new prime minister on Friday urged political parties to put aside their differences for the sake of the country, in his first national address since he took office two weeks ago.
Jhalanath Khanal, whose election as prime minister ended a seven-month leadership vacuum, said there was “no alternative” to consensus if the [...]

Read More » No commentFebruary 20, 2011

Nepal’s new PM, elected on 17th attempt, sworn in

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal’s new prime minister — elected by parliament after months of failed attempts — was sworn in Sunday but was unable to name a Cabinet because of continuing negotiations with his main coalition partner over key positions.
Jhalnath Khanal was sworn in by President Ram Baran Yadav at a ceremony in Katmandu. He [...]

Read More » No commentFebruary 8, 2011

Nepal elects new leader after seven months

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepal’s lawmakers on Thursday elected the leftist Jhalanath Khanal as prime minister, ending a damaging seven-month leadership vacuum in the troubled country.
The 60-year-old chairman of the UML (Unified Marxist Leninist) party won the vote after securing the support of the Maoists, the largest force in the 601-member parliament.
His election breaks a long [...]

Read More » No commentFebruary 4, 2011

Nepal’s lawmakers hold fresh vote for PM

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepal’s parliament will again vote for a new prime minister Thursday under revised election rules designed to break a deadlock that has left the country without a government for seven months.
Lawmakers voted 16 times last year to try to elect a new leader after former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stepped down [...]

Read More » No commentFebruary 3, 2011

Nepal communists give up control over ex-fighters

KATMANDU, Nepal – The head of Nepal’s former communist rebels handed command of his fighters over to the government Saturday as part of a peace deal that ended the Himalayan nation’s decade-long conflict.
Nepal’s prime minister and the Communist Party of Nepal, known as the Maoists, reached the deal earlier this month for a special committee [...]

Read More » No commentJanuary 23, 2011

Nepal, ex-rebels agree on monitoring as UN leaves

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal’s government and the former communist rebels have reached an agreement on monitoring thousands of ex-fighters after the United Nations leaves this weekend, officials said Saturday.
Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong said an agreement was reached between Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
The [...]

Read More » No commentJanuary 17, 2011

UN peace mission to Nepal ends after 4 years

KATMANDU, Nepal – The United Nations peace mission to Nepal has ended after a four-year engagement that helped end a communist insurgency.
The U.N.’s blue flag was lowered at the mission’s office in Katmandu on Friday.
Arms monitors will remain at camps where thousands of former rebels are confined until Saturday. It is unclear who will take [...]

Read More » No commentJanuary 15, 2011

Nepal president uses emergency powers to pass budget

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepal’s president on Saturday used emergency powers to pass the long-overdue annual budget and stave off a looming economic crisis in the poverty-stricken Himalayan nation.
The budget should have been passed in July, but was delayed by the fall of the last government, since when 16 attempts to elect a new prime minister [...]

Read More » No commentNovember 21, 2010

Nepalese teen becomes world’s smallest man

POKHARA, Nepal (AFP) – A Nepalese teenager whose tiny stature has made him a celebrity in his homeland entered the record books as the world’s shortest man on Thursday as he celebrated his 18th birthday.
Khagendra Thapa Magar takes over from 24-year-old Edward “Nino” Hernandez from Colombia, who loses the title after just five weeks, following [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 14, 2010

Nepal struggles amid political turmoil

KATMANDU, Nepal – A power battle that has left Nepal’s political system in limbo for months has also frozen efforts to solidify peace, write a constitution and push ahead with development in this desperately poor nation.
With no one in charge, plans to build badly needed rural roads, increase electricity generation in [...]

Read More » No commentAugust 26, 2010