Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Voters in Nepal lined up Sunday to elect members of Parliament in hopes that a new government would bring political stability and help with the Himalayan nation’s development.

The main contestants in Sunday’s election are the ruling alliance of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Nepali Congress party and the Maoist communist party against the Nepal Communist Party (United Marxist-Leninist), headed by former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s parliamentary elections being held Sunday are the fourth since the Himalayan nation abolished a centuries-old monarchy and became a republic. Nepalis have seen little change since, with the same generation of leaders holding power through their control of the main political parties.

Many voters say they are tired of the same leaders retaining power and failing to deliver on promises to improve people’s lives while the country makes little progress.

KATHMANDU, Oct 15 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Nepali government, yesterday, extended an import ban on some vehicles, liquor products and other items, until mid-Dec, as the country’s foreign exchange reserves continue to dwindle.

Four wheelers, including jeep, car and van, motorcycles with an engine capacity of over 150 cc, smartphones priced over 300 U.S. dollars, and all types of foreign liquors are still fully banned, under a notice published in the Nepal Gazette.

KATHMANDU, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari, who had been undergoing treatment at a hospital in the capital of Kathmandu, tested positive for COVID-19, a hospital official said on Sunday.

The president, who was admitted to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital on Saturday, tested positive for COVID-19 in a PCR test, said Dr. Dinesh Kafle, executive director of the hospital.

Kathmandu, Sep 21 (PTI) Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari has refused to sign within the stipulated deadline a key bill to amend the Nepal Citizenship Act, which was endorsed twice by both the houses of Parliament, a move described by constitutional experts as a serious blow to the Constitution.

KATHMANDU, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The general elections in Nepal will be held in a single phase on Nov. 20, the government said on Thursday.

A cabinet meeting made the decision upon recommendation by the Election Commission.

"The cabinet has decided to hold the elections for the House of Representatives and provincial assemblies on Nov. 20," Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki told the press.

KATHMANDU, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government on Sunday announced a number of measures to revive the tourism industry battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, including a plan to declare the years between 2023 and 2033 as Visit Nepal Decade.

Unveiling the Tourism Rehabilitation Action Plan, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Nepal's minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation, said the government is breaking the tradition of announcing a single year as Visit Nepal Year so as to run a sustained campaign to promote tourism, a major foreign exchange earner and job creator for the country.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A Nepali Sherpa broke her own record as the most successful female climber of Mount Everest by reaching the summit of the world’s highest peak Thursday.

Lakpa Sherpa and several other climbers took advantage of favorable weather to reach the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit early in the morning, her brother and expedition organizer Mingma Gelu said. He said she was in good health and was safely descending from the peak.

KATHMANDU, March 26 (Reuters) - China and Nepal will conduct a feasibility study to construct a high-voltage power transmission line across the Himalayas to facilitate the exchange of electric power, officials said on Saturday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Nepali counterpart Narayan Khadka witnessed the signing of an agreement following talks in Nepal's capital Kathmandu.

Nepal faces power shortages during the dry season and the planned grid would alleviate the problem through imports from China.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s government presented a contentious half-billion dollar aid grant from the United States for approval in Parliament on Sunday, triggering a fresh round of clashes between protesters and police outside the legislature.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Parliament to try to push through barbed wire barricades and pelted riot police with stones. Police beat the protesters with bamboo batons, fired tear gar and water canons, leaving injuries on both sides.