Iran's leader condemns Saudi Arabia over haj crush, demands bodies of Iranian pilgrims

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Wednesday accused Saudi Arabia of hampering the transfer of bodies of Iranian pilgrims killed in a crush at haj last week, adding fuel to a growing spat over the disaster in which nearly 800 people died.

Iran has been the most vocal in its criticism of Saudi Arabia for the disaster last Thursday, in which at least 239 Iranians were killed. Tehran says 200 of its pilgrims are still missing.

Iranian officials say Saudi Arabia has not done enough to identify and transfer the bodies of the victims to Iran. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Wednesday that Iran will not allow a single Iranian to be buried in Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia failed to help the injured and are causing trouble in transfer of the bodies to Iran ... the slightest disrespect to Iranians will be met with a harsh reaction from us," Khamenei told graduates of the Iranian Army's military academies in the city of Noshahr.

"We have shown self-restraint so far, but the Saudis should know Iran is more powerful and has more capabilities and they cannot compete with us in any front," he added.

Iranian officials have said the overall total death toll in the crush on Thursday near Mecca is more than 1,000. Saudi Arabia has confirmed the deaths of 769 people.

Senior officials including President Hassan Rouhani and the speaker of the parliament have publicly condemned the Saudi authorities and called for an investigation. The supreme leader has called on the kingdom to apologise.

"Representatives from Iran and the Islamic world should go to Saudi Arabia and investigate the cause of the haj incident," Khamenei was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.

The supreme leader of the Shi'ite theocracy, which is an arch foe of Sunni Muslim bastion Saudi Arabia, also compared the kingdom to pagans who ruled the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam in the seventh century. The comment is a slight to the monarchy which sees itself as the guardian of Islam's holiest sites at Mecca and Medina.

The crush - the deadliest to befall the annual rite in Saudi Arabia for a quarter of a century - happened as two large groups of pilgrims converged at a crossroads outside Mecca on their way to perform the "stoning of the devil" nearby.

Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir hit back at several days of Iranian criticism on Tuesday, telling Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that the Islamic Republic was meddling.

"I think what Iran has said contradicts the principle of sovereignty and lack of interference in others' affairs."

Saudi Arabia says it is investigating the disaster and will soon publish its findings.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Noah Browning; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/30/us-saudi-haj-iran-idUSKCN0RU15V20150930

Taliban fighters seize Afghan city centre of Kunduz

The assault was the second time this year that the hardline Islamist movement has besieged Kunduz city, defended by Afghan forces battling largely without NATO's support after it withdrew most of its troops last year.

The insurgents launched a three-sided surprise offensive at around dawn, and by mid-afternoon they had hoisted their white flag over Kunduz's main square, about 200 metres from the governor's compound, according to a Reuters witness.

The witness also said battles were raging in two districts nearby.

KUNDUZ 'MOST STRATEGIC POINT IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN'

According to two security officials,Taliban gunmen, some armed with rocket-propelled grenades, overwhelmed security guards and broke into the main city prison, freeing hundreds of fighters.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan evacuated its Kunduz compound on Monday morning, soon after the assault began.

"They've been relocated within Afghanistan," said U.N. spokesman Dominic Medley, declining to say where or how many staff were evacuated.

Abdullah Danishy, deputy governor of Kunduz, confirmed the insurgents were closing in.

"There is fierce fighting ongoing at Spin Ghar park, which is some half a kilometre (550 yards) away from the governor's compound," Danishy told Reuters by telephone from the city airport after fleeing his office.

However, he insisted the provincial centre would not fall.

"We have reinforcements coming from other areas and will beat back the Taliban."

"It looks grim"

The Kunduz assault marks a troubling development in the insurgency, although Afghan forces have managed to drive the Taliban back from most of the territory they have gained this year during an escalation in violence.

"It is certainly the first major breach of a provincial capital since 2001," said Graeme Smith, senior analyst for International Crisis Group.

"They are choking the Afghan forces from all sides. It looks pretty grim."

He said Afghan reinforcements could still take back the areas of downtown Kunduz now in Taliban hands, but the insurgents may be tough to dislodge.

"Once they get inside an urban area, your air assets and artillery become much less useful," Smith said.

The Taliban were ousted in 2001 after a U.S.-led campaign, and have been fighting to reimpose their rule in sporadic clashes ever since. They have stepped up their offensive this year as NATO forces drew down to just a few thousand troops.

One Reuters witness saw buildings on fire in the south of the city, and saw Taliban fighters entering a 200-bed government-run hospital.

Dozens of panicked residents fled to the city's main airport but were turned away by security forces.

Afghan military helicopters were firing rockets at militants in three areas on the city's outskirts, a police spokesman said. Artillery and gunfire could be heard in the city centre from just after daybreak.

"Right now heavy fighting is ongoing in Khanabad, Chardara and at Imam Saheb, the main entrances to the city," Sayed Sarwar Hussaini, a spokesman for Kunduz police, said. "We have enough forces and will drive them out soon."

He added that 20 Taliban fighters had been killed and three Afghan police wounded in the clashes.

Defending the city

Special forces from the Afghan police and army were on their way from neighbouring Balkh province to help defend Kunduz, a Balkh police commander said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid urged Kunduz residents to stay inside.

"The mujahideen are trying to avoid any harm to Kunduz residents," he said on his official Twitter account, referring to Taliban fighters.

A hospital official confirmed the Taliban had entered the hospital briefly, apparently looking for wounded government fighters.

"They just visited our rooms. They didn't harm anybody and didn't damage anything. They left soon after," said the official, who declined to be identified.

The once-quiet north of Afghanistan has seen escalating violence in recent years. Kunduz city was the centre of fierce fighting in April as the Taliban sought to gain territory after the end of NATO's combat mission at the end of 2014.

A scaled-down NATO presence now mostly trains and advises Afghan forces, although U.S. drones still target militant leaders and a U.S. counter-terrorist force also operates in the country.

http://www.france24.com/en/20150928-afghanistan-taliban-fighters-enter-northern-city-kunduz

India sentences five men to death for 2006 Mumbai train blasts

A court sentenced five men to death and jailed seven for life on Wednesday for planning the bomb blasts that ripped through Mumbai commuter trains in 2006, killing more than 180 people and wounding hundreds.

The specially convened court convicted 12 of 13 accused earlier this month for their role in the events that led to seven bombs exploding on packed trains during the evening rush hour in Mumbai on July 11, 2006.

The bombs targeted an overcrowded suburban network that carries around seven million people a day.

Police say the attack was carried out by disaffected Muslims at the behest of Pakistan-based militants, and named armed group Lashkar-e-Taiba's Pakistan-based leader, Azeem Cheema, as the prime conspirator.

One of the convicted men flashed a victory sign as he was taken from jail to the court for sentencing.

Defense lawyers said they would appeal to the Bombay High Court. “We are disappointed with the decision,” lawyer Wahab Khan told reporters. “Even a common man could say this is a framed-up case.”

Controversy has dogged the investigation of the 2006 attacks, adding to delays in a trial that has dragged on for eight years and featured testimony from about 200 witnesses.

Some defendants said they were tortured by police eager to extract confessions on charges that ranged from murder to conspiracy against the state and waging war against the nation. Police have denied these assertions.

Relations between India and Pakistan remain difficult, with recent flashpoints including border tensions and controversy over whether to discuss the disputed territory of Kashmir derailing an attempt to revive peace talks.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/9/30/india-sentences-five-men-to-death-for-2006-mumbai-train-blasts.html

India, US reiterate threat posed by LeT, Dawood company

Even as recognising the threat posed by South Asian terror groups including Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba and D company, India and the US decided to step up their counter-terrorism efforts, they reached five other key agreements.

An India-US Joint Declaration on Combating Terrorism issued at the end of the first India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue on Tuesday renewed a call to Pakistan to bring perpetrators of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to justice.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the dialogue, “reiterated the threat posed by entities such as Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, Lashkar-e-Taeba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company, and the Haqqani Network, and other regional groups that seek to undermine stability in South Asia.”

The dialogue set the stage for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third summit with President Barack Obama at the United Nations next week.

Other key outcomes listed by Swaraj and Kerry at a joint press conference after the dialogue included setting up a new mechanism of dialogue between India’s Foreign Secretary and US Deputy Secretary of State on regional and global issues.

The two countries also decided to elevate the secretary-level trilateral with Japan to ministerial-level.

Kerry and Swaraj would meet their Japanese counterpart in New York next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.

Kerry also announced that India and the US have also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of climate change and renewable energy.

They also decided to launch a Fulbright Climate Fellowship programme.

In another important outcome, India and the US decided to train troops in six African countries before they are deployed on a UN Peacekeeping mission. Kerry described this as a milestone.

The Indian side also welcomed US reiteration of support for India’s membership of the four major multilateral export control regimes including the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to a secure and stable Afghanistan and agreed to launch an Ocean Dialogue.

Both Swaraj and Kerry described the meeting as “meaningful and productive”.

“A main take-away from our discussions includes our shared view that we need to keep the big picture, the strategic framework of relationship in mind, especially when it comes to our strategic security and political interests, regionally as also internationally, as also when we deal with trans-sectional issues,” Swaraj said.

Turkmenistan joins IAEA

17 SEPTEMBER 2015, 12:33 (GMT+05:00)

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Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept.17
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:

The member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have unanimously approved Turkmenistan’s accession to the organization, the message from Turkmenistan’s government said Sept.17.

The decision was made during the 59th meeting of IAEA General Conference.

The representatives of IAEA member states praised Turkmenistan’s commitment to the principles of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world, in particular in Central Asia and emphasized the country’s significant contribution to ensuring peace and security, said the message.

Moreover, during the meeting it was noted that Turkmenistan is ready to fulfill all its obligations as an IAEA member.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, headquartered in Vienna, was created in 1957 as an independent intergovernmental organization in the UN system. The goal of the IAEA is to develop cooperation in the sphere of peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Edited by CN

Taliban militants attack mosque at air force base in Pakistan, killing 29

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN)Militants raided an air force base Friday in northwest Pakistan, killing 29 people, including some who were praying inside a mosque, Pakistani military officials said.

The attack on the 10-acre Badaber base outside Peshawar is the largest assault on Pakistani military personnel this year. It's the highest-profile assault in the area since terrorists killed 145, mostly children, during a school massacre last year.

When the militants attacked the base, security forces responded, eventually killing 14 attackers, Peshawar police official Shafquat Malik said.

The military side suffered several injuries, including an army major who was shot in the thigh, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa said.

Each of the attackers carried 2 kilograms of improvised explosives, plus hand grenades and an AK-47, Malik said.

The Pakistani Taliban, known in the country as Tehrik-i-Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The United States built Badaber Air Base in the 1950s. It was used as a listening post to intercept radio information from the Soviet Union.

Nepal constitution: Mind your own business, media tell India

India's reaction to Nepal's new constitution and the violence preceding and following it, has been criticised by Nepal's media and Twitter users.

The Indian government expressed "concern" over the constitution and on Monday recalled its ambassador to Nepal for urgent consultations.

Since then, leading Nepalese newspapers have been criticising what they see as interference.

More than 40 people have been killed in protests in areas adjoining India.

'Crossing the red line'

"Certainly, while drafting the constitution serious problems have erupted in our country," says the prominent Nepali paper Kantipur, but goes on to add that "it is for us to solve these problems".

"A neighbouring country's coming into the picture, or its being invited to solve our internal problems and challenges, is not acceptable at all," the paper says.

The English-language Kathmandu Post says in an editorial that "Delhi would do well not to be seen as crossing the red line to meet its objective. It could box itself in a difficult position and see it lose its diplomatic leverage against certain parties and sections of the polarised society".

My Republica, another English daily, carries a prominent story on how former Nepalese diplomats find Delhi's response "inappropriate".

"If India involves itself in the micromanagement of its neighbouring countries, such a move may give a wrong message to the international community," the paper quotes Shankar Sharma, Nepal's former envoy to the US, as saying.

Another paper, The Rising Nepal, adds: "In all, India has not yet supported the new constitution, which many fear would invite trouble in the shape of rousing disturbances in the Terai region which borders India."

Fuel worries

Meanwhile, the response from Nepalese Twitter users has been even stronger, with the hashtag #backoffIndia trending worldwide till late on Tuesday, with more than 180,000 tweets posted on the day.

The violence in Nepal is also said to be affecting the supply of fuel in the capital, Kathmandu, and other major towns. Nepal relies on India for fuel but reports say many truckers are wary of entering Nepal because they fear violence from clashes between protesters and police.

Twitter users in Nepal are concerned about this, with some accusing India of deliberately stopping the fuel supply.

deliberately stopping the fuel supply.

Image copyrightTwitter

More than 10,000 tweets on Tuesday addressed Mr Modi's Twitter account and that of the Indian prime minister's office, many telling him in no uncertain terms to stop interfering in Nepal's sovereign issues. And #growupmodi was among the more polite examples of tags making the rounds.

Image copyrightTwitter

Image copyrightTwitter

Targeting Indian government, not people

Some Nepalese Twitter users, however, sought to clarify that their anger was not directed at the Indian people but the government.

Image copyrightTwitter

Sushmita, using the handle "@sushprj", tweeted: "Dear Indian people, We are not against you, we are against Indian politics that is trying to interrupt our internal affairs. #BackOffIndia"

Why India is concerned about Nepal's constitution

Nepal's adoption of a new federal constitution has led to a souring of ties with its giant neighbour India.

The document defines the majority Hindu nation as a secular republic divided into seven federal provinces.

Although Delhi was one of the major backers of the process over the past decade, it believes the new constitution is not broad-based and is concerned that it could spur violence which could spill over into its own territory.

India's reaction in the past few days to events in Nepal has been quite remarkable.

On Friday, just a couple of days before the constitution was formally adopted (but after it had been passed by the Constituent Assembly) India's top diplomat was sent to Kathmandu at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar held discussions with Nepal's president and prime minister and leaders of all the major political parties including those who had opposed the constitution in its current form.

He is believed to have pressed the Nepalese government to delay the adoption of the constitution and hold discussions with political groups opposed to it.

Reports in the Indian media say that India's ambassador in Kathmandu spoke to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala hours before Sunday's constitution ceremony to express Delhi's disappointment at the process going through.

Violent reaction

And hours after the constitution was formally adopted, the Indian foreign ministry put out a terse statement only "noting" that it had taken place.

"We are concerned that the situation in several parts of the country bordering India continues to be violent," the statement said.

"We urge that issues on which there are differences should be resolved through dialogue in an atmosphere free from violence and intimidation, and institutionalised in a manner that would enable broad-based ownership and acceptance," it added.

It's hardly a ringing endorsement.

India's concern has been with the violent reaction to the constitution in the low-lying southern plains, adjoining India, the Terai.

Communities living in the Terai, especially the Madeshis and the Tharu ethnic minorities, have expressed concern that the proposed boundaries of the new provinces could lead to their political marginalisation.

The two groups make up nearly 40% of Nepal's population and the Madeshis share close ethnic ties with people in India.

Sri Lanka rejects international war crimes probe

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's prime minister on Tuesday (Sep 22) rejected a UN call for international involvement in an investigation into alleged war crimes.

Ranil Wickremesinghe said talks were under way to establish a credible domestic mechanism to investigate abuses during the decades-long conflict with Tamil separatist rebels that ended in May 2009.

"There is nothing to be got from abroad," Wickremesinghe said, after a damning UN report recommended Colombo allow international experts to assist its domestic investigation.

"The media says hybrid (inquiry), but it is not hybrid," said Wickremesinghe, after UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein asked the government to establish "a hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators".

Members of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority say they do not trust a local inquiry to reach the truth about the conflict, in which more than 100,000 people died. It ended in 2009 with the defeat of rebels who had waged a long fight for a separate homeland for the Tamils.

President Maithripala Sirisena's new government has vowed to punish war criminals, in contrast to his hawkish predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse who had insisted that not a single civilian was killed by troops under his command.

Sri Lanka became an international pariah after repeatedly resisting calls for a credible probe into the horrendous crimes, including the killing of at least 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the war.

But in a major shift Washington last month announced it would support Colombo's plans for a domestic inquiry, which is also supported by neighbouring India.

When Sirisena came to power in January - backed strongly by the Tamils - he promised to restore human rights and the rule of law as well as mend fences with regional power India and the West.

His government has proposed a series of new measures to promote reconciliation and accountability after accusing the previous administration of breaking promises to deliver justice.

Wickremesinghe said he expected the United States to move a resolution at the ongoing UN rights council sessions backing his administration. "Discussions are going on in Geneva so I don't want to talk about it, but we hope the US will bring a consensus resolution on Sri Lanka," he said.

The new government announced last week that it would set up a South African-style truth commission, a war reparations office and a commission on missing people.

Taliban gunmen launch fatal attack on Pakistan air force base

A brazen Taliban attack on a Pakistani military base on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar killed scores of people on Friday. The attack was a major blow for Pakistan's military, which stepped up operations against the militants following a horrific Taliban attack last December at a Peshawar school that killed 150 people, mostly children.

Death tolls were not immediately clear. At least 20 were initially believed killed in the attack, and security forces reported as many as 43 dead. Among the dead were 16 people at a mosque inside the compound, but it remained unclear whether they were civilians or military personnel.

Three guards employed with the air force and an army captain were also killed, officials said.

The attackers first stormed the guard room of the Badaber base, according to air force officials. The base was established in 1960s as an air force facility, but has mostly been used as a residential place for air force employees and officers from Peshawar.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said 13 attackers were killed by the security forces. He said that the attack was quickly repulsed, and that the bodies of the slain "terrorists" were lying on the ground in the base compound.

Details were sketchy about how the Taliban managed to make their way into the mosque, which is inside the compound walls, and gun down 16 people during prayers.

Bajwa said that the attackers entered the base from different directions in a two-pronged assault — apparently one push targeted the mosque — but that security forces quickly responded.

It was also unclear if any of the attackers got away.

"All the terrorists were wearing explosives-laden jackets and were armed with hand-propelled grenades, mortars and AK-47 rifles," a military official at the base, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.

One of the wounded security officials, Mohammad Rizwan, said he was coming out of the mosque when he was hit by a bullet.

"I fell down and I saw some of the attackers, but I don't know what happened later, I fell unconscious," he said.

Shortly after the attack, a suspected U.S. drone strike hit a home in the South Waziristan tribal region, south of Peshawar, killing at least three fighters and wounding five, according to two Pakistani security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Earlier, in Tweets posted on social media, Bajwa said the country's powerful army chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, rushed to Peshawar and met with the security forces taking part in the clearing operation. He said Sharif will visit a military hospital where doctors were treating soldiers wounded in the attack.

A rescue officer said his crew transported at least 20 wounded to hospitals in the area. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said there were no immediate reports of women or children among the wounded.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Mohamad Khurasani, claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement to the media, he said 14 Taliban fighters were involved in the assault. They offered "safe passage" to women and children after attacking the base, Khurasani said. He added that the Taliban "targeted" 50 security forces, without explaining what that meant.

Pakistani TV footage showed army helicopters hovering near the base, as police and troops surrounded the area.

Local police officer Shahid Khan Bangash said a large explosion was heard as the Taliban fighters first tried to storm the base. "We are hearing that the attackers were armed with guns and rockets," he said. Bangash said the attackers threw grenades at the guard room but were unable to enter the main area of the base.

Later in the morning, he said the firing had stopped and a search operation for fighters who might still be hiding in the area was under way.

Air force chief Sohail Aman had briefed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the attack, the air force said.

Friday's attack came a day after Pakistan reported the arrest of a Taliban figure behind a recent failed attempt to target an air force facility in Kamra, also in the northwest of the country. Counter-terrorism officer Junaid Khan in the southern port city of Karachi, where the raid took place, identified the suspect as Umar Hayat and said he was being questioned.

On Thursday, the Pakistani police in Karachi also reported the arrest of another prominent suspect, Syed Sheaba Ahmad, a former air force pilot who allegedly helped finance al-Qaida's newly formed South Asian affiliate.

The Pakistan air force has been playing an important role in the fight against Taliban fighters since June 2014, when the army launched the much-awaited operation in North Waziristan, a restive tribal area along the Afghanistan border. Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders the tribal area. The air force frequently target Taliban hideouts in the tribal area and elsewhere.

The army says it has killed more than 3,000 Taliban so far in the North Waziristan offensive. The region was once considered to be the headquarters of the Pakistani Taliban who have been targeting security forces and public places in an effort to topple the elected government to enforce harsher version of Islam.

Nepal adopts constitution born of bloodshed, compromise

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Nepal adopted its first democratic constitution on Sunday in a largely peaceful event, a historic step for a nation that has seen war, a palace massacre and devastating earthquakes since a campaign to create a modern state began more than 65 years ago.

President Ram Baran Yadav promulgated the charter intended to unite the country, but it has already exacerbated divisions in some places with 40 people killed in protests against it in recent weeks.

"Our country is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural ... this new document will safeguard the rights of all Nepali brothers and sisters," Yadav said, signing five copies of the constitution into law as lawmakers thumped tables. Some of them cried.

There were no reports of major violence on Sunday though three people were wounded when police fired at people trying to break a curfew in Birgunj in the south. In the capital Kathmandu, a crowd of more than 2,000 people cheered and took pictures of the constituent assembly building decked out in red and blue Nepali flags.

Neighbouring powers India and China are keen to see stability and to limit each other's influence in the poor Himalayan country sandwiched between them.

The earthquakes that killed more than 9,000 people in Nepal this year galvanized politicians, who had squabbled for seven years to finish the charter.

It creates seven states in a secular, federal system, but is opposed by some groups who wanted to re-establish Nepal as a Hindu nation, and others who feel it is unfavourable to people in the plains, near India.

Demonstrations in the lowlands in recent weeks were met with a tough response from Kathmandu, which ordered in the army after protesters attacked and killed police. More than 40 protesters and police died.

The unrest troubles India, which on Sunday urged Nepal to resolve differences between groups through dialogue.

China has welcomed the new constitution saying that as a "friendly neighbour" it hoped for increased stability and growth.

    The government says an imperfect document is better than nothing, and the constitution can be amended to reflect the aspirations of dissenting groups.

    

    NEW GOVERNMENT?

Nepal's 239-year old monarchy was abolished in 2008, seven years after an unhinged crown prince killed the king and eight members of his family at the height of a Maoist uprising.

Disgruntled royalist politicians voted against the charter on Wednesday, while some parties from the southern lowlands abstained.

The Maoists laid down their arms in 2006 and joined democratic politics in an India-brokered peace deal that paved the way for the constitution. Wrangling hampered progress on the draft and several governments have come and gone in the interim.

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala is expected to stand down to allow a new government under the charter. He may be replaced by KP Oli, from a moderate Communist party.

Clauses over citizenship in the country of 28 million people were some of the most contentious with critics saying they discriminate against women who marry foreigners, and that their children are denied equal access to citizenship.

    Estimates of the number of stateless people in Nepal range from 800,000 to 4 million.

Suman Sapkota, 19, a student in Kathmandu, recalled the days when his father, mother and grandparents would take turns to go out on to the streets for protests against the monarchy.

He hopes his country will now have a chance to prosper.

"The main thing I want, and what we all want, is for the country to be peaceful, and never return to the violence we saw in the war," Sapkota said. "I got used to hearing the sounds of gunshots when I was very young, and it's something I don't want to hear any more."

(Writing by Frank Jack Daniel and Krishna N. Das; Editing by Robert Birsel and Ros Russell)
Sun Sep 20, 2015 9:49am EDT

Protesters and police clash in Nepal after adoption of new constitution

Police in Nepal shot and injured at least three protesters on Monday a day after the Himalayan nation adopted its first democratic constitution, dashing hopes that the historic event would put a stop to weeks of bloodshed in which some 40 people have died.

The demonstrators were in critical condition after police opened fire on an anti-constitution protest in the city of Biratnagar with blanks, rubber bullets and possibly live rounds, said Pramod Kharel, a deputy police superintendent in the Morang district of southern Nepal. A police officer was also wounded by protesters throwing stones, he said.

Nepal's new constitution was promulgated on Sunday despite fierce opposition from minority groups in the southern plains whose homeland provinces will be split up under the charter.

The violence has heightened tensions with neighboring India, which had called for the new charter to be more inclusive of ethnic groups near its borders, where much of the violence has been focused.

New Delhi offered its "best wishes to the people of Nepal" on Sunday, but stopped short of congratulations on the new constitution.

"India has supported a federal, democratic, republican and inclusive Constitution," the Foreign Ministry said, adding curtly: "We note the promulgation today of a Constitution."

India also said it was concerned about the continuing violence in border regions.

Maoist party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday told a rally in Kathmandu to celebrate the constitution: "We want friendship with India, not to be its 'Yes Man'," according to local media.

Nepal's government says an imperfect document is better than nothing, and it can be amended to reflect the aspirations of dissenting groups.

Politicians had squabbled for seven years over the charter, but were finally galvanized to finish it by two earthquakes that killed more than 9,000 people in Nepal this year.

It creates seven states in a federal system, but is opposed by groups who want to re-establish Nepal as a Hindu nation, and others who feel it is unfavorable to people in the plains.

Celebrations were held around the country on Monday, including in Biratnagar, scene of the protests earlier in the day. A heavy security presence remained in some places, with a curfew in one district that saw clashes on Sunday.

A top aide to Prime Minister Sushil Koirala stepped down after writing an article last week that suggested India was meddling in Nepal's affairs.

"Given that the prime minister came under a lot of pressure from some external sources regarding this article, I decided that it would be easier for (him) if I stepped down," Prateek Pradhan told Reuters.

Nepal's other large neighbor, China, has welcomed the new constitution.

(Writing by Krista Mahr; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

World | Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:48am EDT