Around the World: Nepal

VP refuses to take oath

Nepal's vice-president defied a court order to retake the oath of office in the official Nepali language by yesterday's deadline, saying the order violated people's right to chose their own language.

Street protests broke out last year after Paramananda Jha took the oath in Hindi, and demonstrators called for a public apology. A rights activist filed suit, saying Jha had not followed the law. The country's supreme court had given Jha until yesterday to retake the oath or lose his job.