Nepal came under international pressure Monday after the US, EU and India recalled their ambassadors from the Himalayan outpost to protest King Gyanendra's seizure of absolute power.
The US State Department indicated of possible international action if the king refused to heed calls to restore fundamental rights.
"The recall of our ambassador, along with the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, India and France, who are also leaving Kathmandu today, I think is an indication of the deep concern in the international community about the recent developments in Nepal," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.
"These are widely shared among nations of the international community," he said.
In Paris, French foreign ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said: "In light of recent events in Nepal, we have decided -- along with our European partners -- to recall EU ambassadors living in Kathmandu for consultations."
On Feb. 1, Nepal's King Gya-nendra sacked the government, appointed a pro-royalist Cabinet headed by himself and declared a state of emergency in the Himalayan kingdom.
Boucher said the US had "made clear the point" that the king needed to restore and protect civil and human rights.
Gyanendra should also release those detained under the state of emergency and move quickly toward restoration of civil liberties and multi-party, democratic institutions, he added.
"We will consult with our ambassador and others will consult with their ambassadors about how best to achieve those goals, how we can support those goals," Boucher said.
"And we'll be sending our ambassador back after a [week] in order to convey that message even more clearly," he said.
Whatever steps taken by the international community would be aimed at "supporting the Nepalese people's quest for democracy, peace, security and development," he added.
India's envoy to Nepal, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, who returned to New Delhi on Monday, had called on the foreign minister Natwar Singh, and briefed him on the latest developments in the restive Himalayan kingdom and his talks with King Gyandendra last week.
Analysts say that among the first actions to be taken if the Nepalese king refused to budge would be freezing military aid to the impoverished nation fighting an uphill battle to suppress a Maoist insurgency, which has claimed more than 11,000 lives so far.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS