Deadline set for new govt in Nepal

KATHMANDU: Nepal's president has given political parties until Saturday to form a government after Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda resigned in a crisis that has threatened the Himalayan nation's fragile new democracy.

The president's deadline came as the main parties met yesterday to try to form a coalition government after former guerrilla leader Prachanda quit because his decision to sack Nepal's army chief was blocked by President Ram Baran Yadav.

Efforts to forge a new government will require bringing together about two dozen parliamentary groups, highlighting the difficulties of alliance-building in one of the world's poorest nations which is also emerging from a decade-long civil war.