Nepal

A community portal about Nepal with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: Nepal, officially the Kingdom of Nepal , is a landlocked Himalayan country in South Asia, bordered by China to the north and by India to the south, east and west. Nepal is a kingdom of various geographical features, and is culturally rich. More than 80% of Nepalese follow Hinduism, which is higher than the percentage of Indian Hindus, making it the single most Hinduic nation in the world. For a small territory, the Nepali landscape is uncommonly diverse, ranging from the humid Terai in the south to the lofty Himalayas in the north. Nepal boasts eight of the world's fourteen highest mountains, including Mount Everest on the border with China. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. The other main cities include Bharatpur, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Birgunj, Janakpur, Pokhara, Nepalgunj, and Mahendranagar. The origin of the name Nepal is uncertain, but the most popular understanding is that it derived from Ne and pal.

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Nepal places army on alert for Maoist protests

From: afp.com

Nepal's army and police have been placed on high alert, a government minister said Tuesday, after the opposition Maoist party announced plans to blockade the capital and shut down the main airport.

Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said the Maoists' plans were in breach of the 2006 peace agreement signed by the former guerrillas, who have held regular protests in Nepal since their government fell in May.

"The government has placed all the security agencies on high alert in view of the protests," said Pandey.

"The Maoists have violated the spirit of the comprehensive peace accord by announcing plans to blockade the Kathmandu Valley and shut down the airport. This is not a democratic way to press for their demands."

The Maoists, who fought a 10-year civil war against the state before winning landmark elections in 2008, last week announced a fortnight of nationwide protests aimed at destabilising the new coalition government.

They have vowed to bring Kathmandu to a standstill on November 10 by shutting the country's only international airport during the peak tourist season and blocking all roads into the capital.

They are calling for the president to apologise for blocking Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal's attempt to sack the head of the army, a move they say was unconstitutional.

Representatives from the United States, the European Union and Russia on Tuesday met Dahal and urged him to call off the protests, which they said could escalate tensions in Nepal and harm the economy.

Maoist spokesman Dinanath Sharma denied the protests were in breach of the peace agreement, which prohibits the "spread of social disharmony in any manner, including acts of incitement and instigation."

"We have the right to organise peaceful protests. We have been forced into this because the government is not listening to our demands," he told AFP.

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