Nepal finalises national unity government

Nepal completed the formation of a national unity government on Tuesday to agree a long-delayed new constitution, the deputy prime minister said. The cross-party executive replaces the Maoist-led cabinet which resigned earlier this month after striking a deal with opposition groups to end six years of political deadlock following the nation's decade-long civil war.
Leaders from the Nepali Congress and Madhesi Morcha parties had already agreed to join the new cabinet but the third largest party, Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), rejected the offer, saying it was against the "spirit of consensus." But the UML said Tuesday it would nominate ministers to join the new government after all in a move likely to speed up the protracted peace process.