Maoists block Nepal Finance Minister’s convoy

September 17th, 2009 KATHMANDU - A fresh dispute over the Nepal national flag has erupted between the UCPN (Maoist) and the other parties. The parties are divided on whether to retain the current flag or design a new one that should contain stars equal in numbers to the number of federal units after the restructuring of the state.

September 16th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Maoists re-opened the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) office of centuries-old Pashupatinath Temple here on Tuesday. It was locked about two weeks ago after the two Indian priests were beaten up.

September 11th, 2009 KATHMANDU - As the opposition Maoist party staged a show of strength in the capital Friday, unveiling nearly four dozen demands and warning to unleash a 'storm' if not heeded, the coalition government chose to ignore the show and instead inducted two more new ministers. The number of ministers went up to 44 with the regional Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) getting two more berths.

August 18th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will be leaving on a five-day official visit to India leading a 64-member team on Tuesday afternoon. Nepal will be accompanied by his spouse Gayatri Nepal, six cabinet ministers including the Foreign, Finance and Energy Ministers, high level government officers, businessmen and journalists.

July 3rd, 2009 KATHMANDU - Given only a couple more weeks by the Maoists and unable to table the budget in parliament due to their opposition, Nepal's beleaguered Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Friday expanded his cabinet in a surprise move, inducting two more ministers. With this fourth expansion, the cabinet now has 32 ministers with yet another induction in the pipeline.

June 29th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Maoist chief and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda Monday said the month-old ruling coalition of new premier Madhav Kumar Nepal would fall 'within weeks' and a new national government would be formed. Prachanda, whose party's top leadership Monday winded up their 13-day meeting to chalk out future strategy, dismissed Nepal's fledgling government as a 'drop of water' and said there was no question of his party joining it.

June 24th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Within 72 hours of Indian foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon's visit to Nepal to give a push to the stagnating peace process, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Wednesday expanded his cabinet for the third time, inducting the Terai parties that had remained deadlocked over the allocation of berths. But though Nepal named eight new ministers - including two ministers of state - confusion dogged the swearing-in ceremony with one of them not turning up at the presidential palace for the ceremony.

June 24th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Closely watching the battle in India's West Bengal state between security forces and tribals backed by Indian Maoists, Nepal, the survivor of a decade-old Maoist uprising, Wednesday said the neighbouring country's decision to ban the Left radicals was its own internal affair. "It is the decision taken by a sovereign country," said Shankar Pokhrel, Nepal's information and communications minister who is also the spokesman of the communist-led government that came to power last month after the fall of the country's first Maoist government.

June 24th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Within 72 hours of Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon's visit to Nepal to give a push to the stagnating peace process, the political deadlock gripping Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's nearly one-month-old government eased Wednesday with the Terai parties reining in disputes and sending representatives to the cabinet. With the induction of six new ministers, Nepal's expanded council of ministers now has 28 ministers, including himself.

June 22nd, 2009 KATHMANDU - CPN (UML) leader KP Sharma Oli has said that the Maoists would join the government within two months.peaking to journalists at Tribhuvan International Airport here on Sunday on his arrival after completing his ten-day visit to India, Oli said the peace process would not succeed without the participation of Maoists. "Peace process will not reach a logical conclusion just by a consensus among Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal," he added.

June 17th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Nepals Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Wednesday expanded his 11-member cabinet to induct 10 new ministers. However, the protracted squabble with allies over power sharing continued even three weeks after Nepal assuming office with the parties from Terai not sending any new faces to the cabinet.

June 4th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Ten days after he became Nepal's new prime minister, replacing Maoist premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, communist leader Madhav Kumar Nepal Thursday finally expanded his three-member cabinet with eight new ministers from three more parties. Bitter infighting in the major parties held up the expansion of the cabinet and there was growing pressure from India and other foreign governments for the parties to get their act together.

May 18th, 2009 KATHMANDU - The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Monday obstructed parliament's regular session which was to have elected a new prime minister. Maoist lawmakers chanted slogans and prevented attempts by the assembly chairman to present a proposal on the election as soon as parliament went into session.

May 17th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Veteran communist leader Madhav Kumar Nepal is all set to become new Prime Minister of Nepal after getting the backing of 22 of the 24 parliamentary parties. Twenty two parties including the Nepali Congress, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MFJ), the Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party, the Nepal Sadbhawana Party, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the CPN-United have submitted the signatures of the lawmakers informing the CA chairman that they support Nepal as the Prime Minister of the new coalition government.

April 29th, 2009 KATHMANDU - As the bitter battle between Nepal's ruling Maoist party and army chief General Rookmangud Katawal showed no sign of any resolution, India's Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood Wednesday met opposition leader and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala for consultations. Sood met Koirala a day after Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' met the veteran leader, who is regarded as the architect of the peace negotiations that helped the Maoists return to mainstream politics and end the decade-old armed uprising.