Police open fire in Kathmandu protest against Maoist guerrillas

Flashpoint: Police fired warning shots at a crowd of 20,000 who were protesting an enforced six-day general strike

Weight of support: The 20,000 protesters were backed by the U.S. which has called for the strike to be aborted

Clashes: Friends carry an injured man away for treatment after he suffered a head wound during scuffles over the strike, enforced by the country's Maoists

Violence: Protesters flee the riot police wielding long batons and shields

Police used tear gas to break up the crowd of protesters

Police in Kathmandu fired warning shots today as thousands of protesters gathered in Nepal's capital to demand an end to a crippling general strike imposed by former communist guerrillas seeking the government's resignation.

The crowd of 20,000 - including doctors, lawyers, business executives, singers, teachers, and labourers - demanded a halt to the six-day strike that has shut down transportation, businesses and schools in Kathmandu and other cities.

It was the largest protest against the Maoist-imposed strike since it began on Sunday.

The Maoists want Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to resign and hand power over to a Maoist-led administration. The government has said it won't bow to the demands.



The Maoists traditionally back their strike calls with the threat of violence against those who defy them, and their supporters went into Kathmandu neighborhoods to try to forcibly shut shops that owners opened for business.
Thousands of police in riot gear guarded the capital's streets to prevent violence.
Police reported at least two clashes and officers shot weapons into the air and fired tear gas canisters to bring the situation under control.

No information on casualties was immediately available.

The unrest has raised fears of renewed bloodshed in Nepal, where the Maoists ended their decade-old insurgency - which left an estimated 13,000 people dead - and joined a peace process in 2006.
The communists won elections in 2008 and briefly led a coalition government. A dispute over the army chief's firing, however, split the coalition, leading to the formation of the current administration that the Maoists are trying to topple.

Residents opposed to the strike began lashing out on Thursday, assaulting strike supporters and setting a car on fire in scattered clashes in the capital and other towns.

The unrest comes as Nepal's Constituent Assembly, elected to draw up a new constitution, struggles to draft the charter before its term expires May 28.

South Korean becomes first woman to climb world's 14 highest mountains

Top of the world: Oh Eun Sun, 44, celebrates on South Korean television after reaching the top of Mount Annapurna in Nepal

Achievement: Miss Oh has become the first woman to climb all 14 of the world's mountains higher than 8,000m

Record: The climber had to turn back hundreds of yards from the top of Annapurna in a previous climb after bad weather and high winds

A South Korean mountaineer became the first woman to scale the world's 14 highest mountains, officials have said.

Oh Eun Sun, 44, was captured on live television as she reached the summit of Mt Annapurna in the Himalayas to claim the record.

But her closest rival, Edurne Pasaban of Spain, has accused her of cheating by failing to reach the highest point on one of her climbs.
Miss Oh crawled on all fours to reach the summit of Mt Annapurna yesterday, before pulling out a South Korean flag and shouting 'victory!'

Officials said the mountain was the last of the 14 peaks above 26,247ft (8,000m) she needed to climb to set the mark.

She reached the summit - 26,545ft above sea level - 13 years after she scaled her first Himalayan mountain, Gasherbrum II, in 1997. She scaled Everest in 2004.

Footage on KBS showed her breathing heavily after each step in -29C temperatures at the top of the mountain.

She said after reaching the top: 'I'm so happy, and I would like to share this joy with the South Korean people. Thank you, thank you.'


Dispute: Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban claims Miss Oh failed to reach the top of Mt Kanchenjunga

South Korean president Lee Myung-bak said the country was 'awakened to her great spirits of challenge'.

He added: 'She is really great and I'm proud of her.'
Ang Tshering, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said the South Korean deserved the title.

She said: 'We recognise her achievement as the first woman climber to scale all the highest mountains in the world.

'We are all happy and proud of her achievement.'But Ms Pasaban has publicly questioned whether she had in fact reached the top of Mt Kanchenjunga - the world's third-highest peak - which is partly in Nepal.

She told The Times last week that Miss Oh's sherpas had told her that she did not reach the highest point during the climb last year.

She claims photos taken of that trek did not clearly prove she had reached the top.

She said: 'All I want is one thing - that people should tell the truth. This kind of thing - I don't like it.'

Ms Pasaban has only the 26,330ft Mount Shisha Pangma left to climb to achieve the feat.

Expedition coordinator Song Hea-kyong said the Ms Oh's team was in good health and was making its way down to the base camp. They are expected back in Katmandu by the weekend.

Miss Oh tried to climb Mt Annapurna last year, but turned away just hundreds of yards from the top because of bad weather. Snow and high winds also stopped her from making the trek last weekend.

She said she would be carrying a photograph of Ko Mi-young, a lifelong rival who fell to her death last year while descending from Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth-highest peak.

Nepalese government holds cabinet meeting on Mount Everest-Highest parliment in the world.

Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal (C) waves as he attends the cabinet meeting at the foothills of Mt. Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) Base Camp at Kalapatthar which is approximately 5,164 meters high above the sea level on Dec. 3, 2009. The Nepali Government's historical high-altitude cabinet meeting, attended by altogether 24 ministers, is held on the base to draw the global community's attention toward climate change and its impact on melting Himalayas

The historic high-altitude cabinet meeting of Nepali government held to draw the global community's attention toward climate change and its impact on melting Himalayas has come up with a 10-point "Everest Declaration" Friday.

The cabinet meeting presided by Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was held at Kalapatthar, the Base Camp of Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) at a height of approximately 5,164 meters.

"We have successfully conducted our historic cabinet meeting. We would like to thank all the people who have assisted us, supported us and given us help and support to make this event a grand success," said Prime Minister Nepal in a press conference organized at Syangboche near Everest Base Camp after cabinet meeting.

"Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) is an icon of world environment. The 2,700-km East-West range of Himalayas and 1.3 billion people's civilization, their culture and tradition, natural heritage and tourist development has contribution."

He added that he would urge the developed countries to look at the impact of the climate change on the poor countries while attending the Climate Change summit in Copenhagen.

Global issue of climate change has negative impact not only on Himalayas and millions of lives living in this arena but also the environment, social-economic development, natural vegetation and tourist development sector, said Nepal addressing the press conference.

Due to climate change, threat of natural calamities like drought, flood, landslide, famine, and glacial outburst is increasing, he added.

"Through Everest Declaration-2009, we would like to express our collective commitment to climate change and open the financial support sector," Nepal said.

To protect the Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) and rest of the Himalayan range from melting down due to the global warming, Nepali government has declared "Everest Declaration-2009".

To conserve the vulnerable Himalayas form climate change, to draw the attention of global community, Nepal will cooperate with South Asian nations and the rest of the world, the prime minister said reading the first point of "Everest Declaration-2009".

To launch a public awareness campaign in the national level to highlight the adverse impact of climate change on local habitants and life style, especially the marginalized people.

The cabinet also decided to extend the territories of Api-Nampa conservation area in Darchula district, Gauri Shankar conservationarea in Ramechhap and Dolakha districts as well as to extend Bardiya National Park.

With the Everest Declaration, the government has committed to increasing the conservation areas in the country from 20 percent to 25 percent and consolidating 40 percent forest area. It also focuses on raising awareness on climate change issues and seeking international commitment and support to address the issues.

The cabinet also decided to add the Banke National Park as a new national park.

A team of around 110 people comprising the 24 Nepali ministers including Prime Minister Nepal, national and international journalists, health and technical teams attended the event.

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